


Wednesday Morning; 4:27 AM

by Emba_N



Series: JaTP One Shots/Stories by Emba_N [1]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Afterlife, Anxiety Attacks, Blood and Injury, Caleb Covington Redemption, Cancer, Child Abuse, Death, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Ghost Sickness, Good Caleb Covington, Goodbyes, Grief/Mourning, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Protective Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), The Phantoms (Julie and The Phantoms), Vomiting, but theres still death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 31,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26652409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emba_N/pseuds/Emba_N
Summary: 2 weeks after the band play the Orpheum, Julie wakes up to a strange sound at 4 am. She expects Carlos or her dad but finds Reggie slumped over the toilet looking sick. Luke and Alex left last night and weren’t going to be back for a while. Which meant Julie was going to have to help him but little does Julie know a farmiliar ghost lurks behind it all.
Relationships: Alex & Caleb Covington & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie, Alex & Caleb Covington (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Willie & Luke (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Caleb Covington & OC (Original Character), Caleb Covington & Willie, Carlos Molina & Reggie, Flynn & Julie Molina, Flynn & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Julie Molina's Mother, Julie Molina & Ray Molina, Julie Molina & Reggie, Luke & Caleb Covington (Julie and The Phantoms), Ray Molina & Reggie, Ray Molina/Rose, Reggie & Caleb Covington (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: JaTP One Shots/Stories by Emba_N [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080653
Comments: 368
Kudos: 704





	1. Looked Completely Human

It was Wednesday morning at 4:27 am when Julie was pulled form her sleep by a stream of noises coming from the bathroom. 

It had been 2 weeks since the band’s gig at the Orpheum and Julie had gotten a bunch of offers for the band to perform. Alex and Willie went on dates every few days and would hang out for hours on end. Julie and Luke would hold hands and write songs for hours together. Reggie loved hanging with Ray as he did everyday chores around the house, he’d even help.

Carrie had stopped tormenting Julie and Flynn and would sometimes try to have a normal conversation with them before it got too awkward and she would leave. Nick was acting strange and would want to sit in on band rehearsals but other than that they were pretty good friends. 

But the one thing Julie was most happy about was that she could still touch and feel the boys. They felt human when they would hug, she could feel their warm hands when they would bow together after performing.

Now Julie squinted her eyes open as she took in the darkness around her. She yawned and sat up in her bed as the sounds came from downstairs. Julie’s brows knitted together as she looked over at her phone and saw the white numbers blaring back at her. 4:27.

Carlos would never be up this early and neither would her dad. Tia would only come over at a reasonable hour unless she was told of an emergency. Concern gripped her as she though of the boys. It had to be an emergency since they would never come in the house this early and make so much noise. They loved to sleep in the studio so them being awake right now scared her.

Julie pulled the blankets away from her as she scooted off her bed and grabbed her phone. She turned her flashlight on and cautiously made her way to her window and peered through and saw the lights of the studio were on. This only made her more nervous as she moved towards her door and pulled it open.

The hallway was dark except for a faint warm glow of a light coming from downstairs. Julie slowly made her way to the staircase and peered down. The noise was louder now and it was definitely coming from downstairs. It sounded like dry heaving. 

Julie bit her lip as she quickly and quietly went down the stairs, grabbing the cross on her way. She carefully and cautiously searched the house. Julie looked all through the downstairs until she saw that the bathroom door was closed, not all the way so light still escaped from the crack.

Julie took a breath and moved towards the door and the sounds continued. Then she was pushing the door open before she knew it. She sucked in a gasp of sadness. The sight she saw would stick with her forever.

Reggie was on his knees slumped over the toilet, his eyes and nose were red from crying. Tears leaked from his eyes as his body spasmed. His skin was paper pale and his hair was a mess and it seemed to be sticking to his forehead. He looked completely human.

“Reggie!” Julie yelped as she quickly dropped to her knees next to him. “What happened?” 

Reggie blinked at her blurrily, his eyes glazed over. Julie reached over and put a hand on his back. Her face scrunched in confusion at the blazing heat that was being emitted from Reggie’s form. She was suddenly incredibly grateful that she could touch the boys.

“‘M sorry. Didn’ mean to ‘ake you.” Reggie mumbled before he started making that horrible noise again, which Julie could only place as dry heaving.

She began to rub Reggie’s back in circles like her mom used to do whenever she was sick. Reggie seemed to relax as she rubbed his back in comforting circles but he continued to dry heave. Julie could see his stomach making erratic spasms from under the shirt.

After what seemed like forever, Reggie finally stop and he slumped forward onto the toilet and rested his sweaty forehead against his arms. Julie continued to rub his back as he relaxed from his most recent bout of painful spasms. She waited a little while before she spoke.

“Where’s Luke and Alex, Reg? Did something happen?” Julie asked gently, trying to sooth Reggie. Reggie just let out a involuntary sob in response and nodded his head. Julie winced in sympathy for him. “Where’d they go?”

Reggie sputtered on his sobbs a few times before he responded. “Looking for gigs. Gone for the day. I woke up and I felt weird so I didn’t go, ‘m sorry.” Reggie muttered miserably before he started sobbing again, the heat radiating from Reggie’s body was making Julie sweat. It was starting to worry her.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Reg. Try and take a few deep breaths with me.” Julie said and Reggie gave her a weak nod before he buried his head into his arms and groaned. Julie began to do exaggerated inhales and exhales and Reggie tried his best to fallow along before his stomach started to spasm again.

“Sh, Reggie. You’re okay. Just breath. Brea-” Julie tried to sooth Reggie but she was cut off by the rhythmic sound of steps coming down that stairs.

“Julie?” Ray’s voice called out. “Are you okay?”

Julie panicked as Reggie finally stopped his bout of gagging, her dad was coming down the hall towards the bathroom. Reggie must’ve been lucid enough to understand that Ray had heard him because he looked up at Julie with confusion.

“Julie?” Ray called again as he pushed the door open. Julie looked up at Ray with panic and Ray looked at her, clearly confused. “What’s going on? Are you sick?”

Julie looked at Reggie, who still had tears streaking down his face as he watched Julie and Ray. Then she looked back at her dad and gave a huff of air before nodded.

“Yeah.” Julie dragged the word out too long and it sounded awkward. Ray kneeled down next to her and felt her forehead.

“How long have you been feeling like this?” Ray asked as he sat with Julie and Reggie. Reggie moved from his place in the toilet and leaned his back against the bathtub and took a few gasping breath, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. 

“I woke up a while ago and felt weird so I came down here to get a drink of water and then this happened.” Julie responded easily. Ray nodded sympathetically.

Julie quickly looked at Reggie when she heard a suppressed heave. Reggie had clamped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to quiet the noise. His eyes told Julie to get Ray out of there quickly.

Julie looked back at her dad. “I think I’m going to go to my room.” 

Ray smiled and nodded before he stood up and then helped Julie up. Ray walked out first and Julie turned and looked at Reggie before she left.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.” Julie whispered and Reggie just gave her a blurry nod as he slumped down the side of the tub with his eyes closed. Julie turned away from Reggie and left the bathroom and fallowed her dad through the house and up the stairs. 

Julie looked up the stair, past Ray and saw Carlos standing there watching her with a worried look on his face. Carlos had managed to figure out about the boys and he loved watching them practice and preform. Ray stayed at the top of the stairs and waited for Julie.

“I’ll wake you up at 7 and see how you feel, alright Jules?” Ray asked and Julie nodded. Ray smiled before he walked back to his room, leaving Carlos and Julie alone in the hallway. 

Once Ray closed his door, Carlos turned and looked at Julie.

“Is it one of the guys?” Carlos whispered, his voice husky from having just woken up.

“Yeah, Reggie isn’t feeling well. Luke and Alex are gone for the day.” Julie heard a small cough from downstairs and winced in sympathy. “Please make sure dad stays in his room. I’ll come up at 6, just try and make sure dad stays in his room.” 

“Ok, tell Reggie I hope he feels better.” Carlos whispered before he walked back into his room.

Julie took a breath before she started back to her room. She grabbed her phone and quickly but quietly went back downstairs to Reggie. He now had his forehead rested on the seat of the toilet with his knees pulled towards his chest, his back still on the bath. He appeared to be asleep.

Julie winced again in sympathy as she sat down next to him, placing her phone on the ground next to her and put a hand on his back. Then she too soon drifted off.


	2. I Don't Want To Be Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and Reggie move the party elsewhere, Reggie lets Julie in on his past family life

Julie had her alarm set for 6 am. She really wished she had turned it off because when it went off both her and Reggie jerked awake by the blaring tune of her alarm. Reggie immediately groaned and wrapped his arms around his middle and touched his forehead against the cool edge of the toilet.

“I’m so sorry, Reggie but I have to go back upstairs.” Julie said gently as she moved onto her knees in a crouch. 

Reggie lifted his head off the toilet seat and grabbed onto her sweater like a little kid, his eyes and face still red from crying. 

“Please don’t, I don’t want to be alone.” Reggie whispered miserably and Julie winced at the pained tightness in his voice. Julie sighed and looked at Reggie, he looked like a little kid begging his mom to stay.

“Okay,” Julie thought through her options carefully. She would need to get Reggie into her room without making too much noise or causing Reggie too much pain. She really hoped Reggie was up to poofing now. “Do you think you can poof to my room?” Julie asked, and Reggie gave her an uncertain nod before he closed his eyes and poof from the room. Julie sighed and got onto her feet and quickly but quietly made her way up the stairs and to her room.

Reggie was curled up in a ball on the floor next to her bed. He had his eyes closed and he was shaking and soft cried were escaping his mouth. Julie quickly shut her door and went to Reggie’s side.

“Reggie, why didn’t you get on the bed?” Julie asked in her best motherly tone she could muster. Reggie just curled into himself more and his jaw tensed.

“You didn’t like it when I was on your bed last time.” Reggie said in a childish tone of innocence. Julie gave a small huff of a laugh.

“When you’re sick you can stay on my bed. I don’t care as long as you’re comfortable.” Julie said before Reggie lifted his head and his eyes grew wide.

“Really?” He said in an astonished voice. Julie laughed before responding.

“Really.” Julie smiled and so did Reggie before it turned into a grimace. “Do you think you can get onto the bed?”

Reggie looked up towards the bed before nodded. “Yeah, just might need some help getting up.”

Julie grabbed onto Reggie’s arm as he pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet. Reggie gave a small groan once he was standing but they managed to get him onto Julie’s bed. Julie then crawled onto her bed and laid next to him.

“‘S soft.” Reggie hummed happily as he laid on the bed. Reggie was laying on his back with one of his arms draped over his eyes and the other tightly wrapped around his stomach. His lips were pulled into a tight line from the waves of pain he was experiencing.

“How’re you feeling now?” Julie asked, knowing it was a dumb question but she didn’t really care. She just wanted to help her friend. Reggie only gave her a shrug in response to her question. “You should get some rest.”

Reggie nodded and continued to lay still as he tried to make himself fall asleep. As Reggie tried to sleep, Julie stared at her ceiling thinking, her worry over Reggie making her restless.

Was this an after affect of Caleb’s stamp? No, its been 2 weeks since the Orpheum. What if Caleb got to Reggie and he didn’t tell us? What are Luke and Alex going to do when they see Reggie like this? Julie turned her head and looked at Reggie. 

In the dark light if her room, his face was flushed and red. His eyebrows were slightly pulled together in the discomfort he was feeling even as he slept. His skin had a thin sheen of sweat over it, which surprised Julie because she didn’t know ghosts could sweat. It worried her because Carlos had appendicitis when he was 7 and Reggie was acting a lot like him but ghosts couldn’t have their appendicitis. Could they?

“Did I ever tell you about my parents?” Reggie asked suddenly, his voice pulling Julie out of her thoughts. She didn’t know much about Alex or Reggie’s life before they died. She knew about Luke’s family obviously but she’d never thought to ask Alex or Reggie.

“No.” Julie said as Reggie flopped his arm away from his eyes and let is lay next to him.

“I haven’t told anyone about this, only Luke or Alex but my dad…” Reggie trailed off as tears began to fill his eyes. “My dad… he- he would hit me.” 

Julie sucked in a deep breath at Reggie’s confession and he continued, ignoring the fact the fact that his voice was starting to shake. “He and my mom… they’d fight and when he stormed out to go drink… he’d get drunk and come find me. Once I… I tried to stop him from, ya know,” Reggie made a small motion of drinking from a bottle before he wiped his nose quickly. “He, um, he… grabbed my wrist and broke it and shamshed a bottle into my stomach.” 

Julie gasped quietly before she slid her hand into Reggie and gave him a reassuring squeeze. He gave a breathy huff and sniffled once.

“I went to Luke’s and him and Mitch and Emily brought me to the ER cause when I got there I was covered in blood and really pale with a deformed wrist. I didn’t tell them then. I should’ve but I didn’t.” Reggie said as tears rolled down his cheeks. He whispered the next part, “I was 14.”

“Oh my god, Reggie.” Julie breathed out as her own tears broke from her eyes.

“My mom… she tried. She tried so hard it was almost painful to watch her. She’d be 30 minutes late to my teacher meetings, she would miss nearly ever show we played. She was a mom but just not a all the way there one.” Reggie said. He drew in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes closed tightly, from pain and emotion. He took in a few uneven, shaky breaths before he continued. 

“I put up with all that for my whole life and I didn’t tell anyone, until I passed out in the studio when Alex, Luke, and Bobby were rehearsing.” Reggie said as wiped a few tears away. “My dad was pissed at my mom for leaving to drink. Then I told him I had to leave for band practice, he lost it and had a knife near him. When we were waiting for the ambulance, I woke up and Alex had my head in his lap and I told them. Right then and there. That was a few months before the Orpheum and the accident.”

Julie gave Reggie’s hand a reassuring squeeze that she was still listening to him. Reggie gave a weaker squeeze back, as if letting her know he accepted the acknowledgement.

“I ran away a month before he went to play the Orpheum. I stayed at Alex’s, you could feel the tension there after he told them he was gay but they still let him stay. I never said goodbye, they never tried to find me. I mean maybe my mom did but not very hard.” Reggie sighed and wiped his face again. “I know it’s stupid but… I miss them.” Reggie whimpered as a quiet sob broke from his throat.

“It’s not stupid, Reg.” Julie said comfortingly. She turned towards him and rubbed his arm as tears fell from both their eyes.

“I know I should hate them but… I can’t. They may have been crappy parents but they were my parents, ya know? I hated hearing them fight, taking the hits from my dad. Whether they were mean for me or my mom. I hated everything about living their but I miss those moments where me and my mom would eat out together well my dad was gone. I miss when me and my dad would play baseball together in the summer. Like how Carlos and Ray do sometimes. I miss them and as much as I hated being in that house… I would give anything to see them. I doubt they’d do that same for me,” Reggie gave a clearly upset and watery laugh, “but I just want to hug them one last time. Say real goodbyes.”

“They didn’t deserve you Reggie. You are such an amazing guy, who’s been through so much but you always stay so strong. You mean so much to us. Me, Luke, Alex, Carlos, and Flynn. We care about you and we always will.” Julie said before she leaned forward and gave Reggie a kiss on the side of his head. Reggie gave a laugh before he squirmed his head slightly and smiled.

“Luke’s gonna be so jealous!” He mocked before he let out a harsh cough and curled around himself even more and muttered a “going to bed” before he relaxed and fell asleep, quiet quickly.

Julie let out a deep breath and let everything sink in. Her fear for Reggie’s ghostly healthy multiplying when he gave a gross noise from deep inside his body and convulsed for a minute before relaxing again.

Julie just had to calm herself down so she could help Reggie when he needed her. Julie somehow managed to calm her mind down and she attempted to get some sleep but the worry over Reggie lurked in her mind as well as the suspicion of Caleb’s involvement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Reggie! Thank you for reading! I literlly almost shit my pants when I saw how many people actually liked the first chapter. It was crazy waking up to seeing a hundred people liking this story in less than 2 days. Completely nuts, thank you all so much❤️! I can't put into words how much your support means to me! I love you all! This chapter was hard for me to write because when I wrote the first chapter I had -1 ideas for possible ways to take this story but I settled on one and I can't wait for you guys to know what happens!! I'm hoping the next chapter will be out sometime next week but (once again) I have a ver unperdictable mind so it might take a little longer for the next chapter.  
> Sorry for any mistakes I missed well editing, I suck at that consept.  
> Thank you so much for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks and just thanks for reading this!  
> Stay safe and healthy and be smart!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma :)


	3. Somethings Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie stays home with Reggie, she finds something out about him  
> Reggie does something that sends both of them into a blind panic

“Julie?” 

Julie groaned and shifted around before settling back into her soft bed again. 

“Julie? Jules?” The voice called again and this time Julie pealed her eyes open and saw her dad’s concerned face. He gave her a small smile and she rubbed her eyes before she sat up.

“Dad? What’re you doing here?” Julie asked, her voice scratchy from sleep. Ray sat down on the side of her bed. Suddenly Julie remembered what had happened the night before. She glanced on the side of her bed that Reggie had fallen asleep on. 

Julie’s lungs seized up when he wasn’t there. Her bed’s blankets were wrinkled and misplaced were he had been. It was like he had just disappeared into thin air, which, of course, Reggie could do but it seemed to hurt him last time. 

She couldn’t panic now, not with her dad here. Julie really hoped Reggie was in the studio or moved somewhere else during the hour they had been sleeping but she had to deal with her dad first.

“How’re you feeling, Jules? Is today a stay home from school day?” Ray asked gently and Julie nodded slowly, trying to seem sick.

“Yeah, I’m still not feeling good.” Julie said and Ray nodded.

“Alright, I’ll call your school. Do you want me to call T-” Ray said but Julie cut him off urgently.

“No! Don’t tell Tia!” Julie said too loudly and too quickly. Ray let out a laugh and nodded before standing up.

“Okay, Jules. I’ll let you get some more sleep. I need to take Carlos to school and then I’ll be gone most of the day with photoshoots. Be sure to call me if you need you need me.” Ray said before he leaned forward and kissed Julie’s head before he walked around the bed.

His brows crinkled together as he looked at the rub next to Julie’s bed on the other side. He walked forward to fix it. Once he did he just looked at Julie with a small smile.

“It was a little messed up.” Ray said and Julie gave a slow nod. As soon as Ray left Julie scrambled to the other side and looked over the side of the bed, hoping to see Reggie but was left looking at just her rug.

Julie waited until she heard her dad and Carlos leave before she jumped off her bed and scrambled to her door and yanked it open. She ran down the hall and looked into the bathroom and let out a sigh when she saw Reggie. Then the worry and sadness hit her square in the gut.

Reggie was sprawled on the cool tile floor, his eyes screwed shut from pain. Sweat coated his brow and ghost bumps covered his arms. Reggie’s jacket and flannel were scattered around the room. His leather jacket was a inch away from falling into the toilet as for his flannel, it was messily balled up as it cradled Reggie’s head.

Julie’s face fell as she walked over to the toilet and saved Reggie’s jacket from taking a swim and dropped it on the floor, safe from any water before she sat down next to Reggie. He squinted his eyes and looked at Julie as she sat down next to him.

“Hey, Jules.” Reggie grunted out before he swallowed thicky and closed his eyes again. Julie’s heart broke when she heard the amount of pain that laced his voice. She carefully reached her hand around his head and began to massage his hair. Her hand immediately felt hot but she didn’t care and just kept playing with his hair.

Reggie leaned into her hand and breathed deeply a few times before he suddenly seized up and shot upward and starting making the awful noise he had been making last night. His stomach and chest jerked with movement as his insides tried to break out of his body.

Julie quickly started rubbing his back as Reggie dipped his head and rested it onto his knees. Julie pushed down her rising panic and focused on helping Reggie and comforting him. She needed to be strong not only for Reggie. 

After what felt like hours, Reggie finally stopped convulsing and he, without warning collapsed back into Julie. She managed to catch him and cradle his head in her lap as he gave small pants of breath.

________

The day mostly consisted of Julie and Reggie lounging around the house, with the many times where Reggie would, at first poofing but it quickly turned to running, to the bathroom and convulsing. Julie had tried to tell him that he didn’t need to go to the bathroom many times but he always did.

Now they both were sat on the floor of the tiled bathroom upstairs as Reggie finished his latest round of heaving. His eyes red and wet with tears, his face was flushed and sweat soaked through his shirt. Julie could practically feel the moisture collecting on her hand as she rubbed his back.

Reggie let out a shaky sigh as he tipped his head back and accidentally ended up bashing it on the edge of the bathtub. Reggie grimaced and cupped the back of his head like a toddler who had banged their head on something.

Julie was reminded of in one episode of ‘Friends’ when Monica accidentally banged Ben’s head into a beam. Julie and her mom would watch that show every night together before she passed away. She smiled to herself at the happy memories before it fell away when Reggie coughed painfully and, this time, gently put his head on the edge of the bathtub.

“Not right.” Reggie muttered and Julie crinkled her brow and tilted her head to the side.

“What’s not right?” Julie asked, her voice thick with worry. Reggie shrugged.

“Dunno, but this doesn’t feel right.” Reggie said as he tightly wrapped an arm around his torso and closing his eyes tightly. Julie shook off the growing anxiety and decided the Reggie should change out of his sweat stained shirt.

“Reggie?” Julie said, which caused Reggie to open his eyes and look at her. They were red and puffy but he still looked at her. “I’m going to go find you a clean shirt to change into, okay?”

Reggie’s eyes got big like they did when she was going to leave to go upstairs. He instinctively grabbed onto her sweater to make her stay. Julie put her hand on his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll only be gone for a few minutes, I swear. It’ll only be 5 minutes at most.”

This seemed to relax him as his hand stopped gripping the fabric of her shirt so tightly and his arm fell limply to his side. He gave a slow nod and Julie smiled and stood up. “I’ll be back soon.”

Julie quickly scampered down the stairs and through the house and to the studio, where the boys kept their clothes. Julie pulled open the doors and flicked on the light as she began her search for fresh clothes. She found Luke’s garbage bag of clothes and Alex’s small backpack and finally she found Reggie bag. 

She unzipped it and pulled out the few items that were inside. A few black and white shirts, 2 replacement wires for his bass, a napkin with a phone number on it and a message that said “call me later -Emmy”. Julie smiled as she continued to riffle through the bag. There was a hair comb and a small jar of hair jell as well as a little jar of colone. She pulled out a black journal littered with stickers and lose pages hanging out and in huge white letters on the front it said “Reggie’s Jams”.

Julie flipped the cover open and scanned over some of the pages, a smile finding its way onto her face as she read some of the titles and the lyrics. 

Home is Where My Horse Is

My One True Love, Pizza and Subs

The Wild West

Cereal and snacks

Fighting, fighting, fighting

Run Away

Home Is Where My Horse Is: A Sequel

Where The Band Plays

Sunset Curve

Now or Never

Guess I’m Dead Now

Finding Home

25 Years Without You

25 Years of Crying, To Alex: it’s okay man.

25 Years of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Shoot

Julie

Pizza, I’ve Missed you (clearly a recent one)

Sunny Days with Rays

And many more songs littered the journal, all of them in varying places of Reggie’s life. Julie was touched that he wrote her a song. Then she flipped to the final page, many pages in the end of the journal were empty but the last page was filled with writing. The top of the last page was had the beginning of a rip, like he was going to rip the page out but didn’t. Julie read the note.

Dear Mom and Dad,  
I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave you but I did. I needed too. I will always love you and never won’t. No matter what happens between us or you guys. I know you haven’t heard from me in a couple weeks but I’m okay. I’m staying at Alex’s for a while.  
Dad, I’m fine by the way. The guys brought me to the hospital but I’m doing great now.  
Me and the band are playing the Orpheum in less than a week. It took a lot of pulling strings but I got 2 tickets for you two incase you wanted to come. I know you’re both busy but I just wanted to make sure you got the chance to see us perform.

Love,  
Reggie :)

Julie saw 2 tickets to Sunset Curve’s performance at the Orpheum on June 16, 1995 that were tapped to the empty space of the note. She felt a few tears slip past her eyes at the note Reggie had meant to give his parents but never got the chance to. After everything Reggie’s parents had done to him he still forgave them and wanted them to see the potentially greatest night of his life. He had MEANT to give it to them but he didn’t. Reggie must’ve got nervous and never did.

Julie suddenly realized that she had been gone much longer than 5 minutes like she promised Reggie she wouldn’t be. Quickly Julie shoved everything back into the backpack and grabbed a shirt before she ran to the lights and flicked them off as she went to leave the studio.

She closed the doors and ran along the pathway and opened the door to the house. She immediately heard it.

“Julie! Come here!” The bassist sounded franic as he yelled for Julie. Julie quickly ran up the stairs and into the bathroom. Reggie was on the balls of his feet and he was leaning against the toilet, one arm gripping the edge of the toilet well the other was tightly wrapped around his stomach.

When she walked through the door, Reggie looked at her with panicked eyes. His chest moving up and down quickly as he looked at her with a scared expression.

“What happened?” Julie asked when she saw what he was so scared about. There was something in the toilet. Before she could get a good look, Reggie gagged and pitched forward over the toilet as his stomach spasmed again but something was different then the last time. 

Something was coming OUT of Reggie’s mouth. He was throwing up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise peeps! I finished rewatching JatP for the third time last night so I was exsploding with excitment to finish this chapter so I wrote a good chunk of it at like 3 am and just finished writing and editing it like a minute ago! I normally don't immediatly post chapter right after I finish editing but I'm still high off emotions from watching the final episodes last night so here you go.
> 
> ['vcujse3Z2q -quick message from my cat, who is making writing this note quite difficult😂
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are happy it came early! Sorry for the cliffhanger but you'll just have to wait and see what it means in the next chapter (which will contain 2 VERY anticipated special ghosts...)  
> I'm hoping that I'll be able to get the next chapter up sometime this week but like I always say, I never know.  
> Thank you all for reading this freaking TED talk of a note and for reading this chapter! I'm sorry for any mistakes I may have missed well editing!  
> Thank you for all the wonderful and incredibly sweet comments! Its always so amazing to hear that you guys are enjoying this!
> 
> Thank you again!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma  
> and my cat, who is still here


	4. Oh My God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie and Reggie panic after Reggie throws up  
> Alex and Luke come home and find them in a panic  
> The band comes up with the probable reason for Reggie's sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw: IF you want to read this as Alex/Reggie, you can but this isn't meant to be. The boys are just a super tight knit family that care for each other. If you want you can come read it as Alex/Reggie (maybe a bit of /Luke but idk he wasnt really a big part in this chapter) Alex, Luke, and Reggie's relationship really is true to how it feels to be in a band that is your family. So just know that if you do get Alex and Reggie ship vibes, they weren't intentional.  
> Anyways happy reading!

Julie pushed away her fears as she quickly moved towards Reggie as she took her position of rubbing his back but this time she pulled his hair from his forehead. He continued to puke as Julie rubbed his back and massaged his hair.

Finally Reggie stopped throwing up, he was clearly exhausted as he collapsed back into Julie and the bathtub. Julie spared a look at what had come out of him. She gasped as she looked at the liquidy stuff that had come out of Reggie. It was purple and did not mix with the toilet water.

“Oh my god.” Reggie muttered, as he looked at the stuff festering in the toilet, his nose crinkled.

“Oh my god!” Julie screeched as it hit her. Reggie could throw up! 

“Oh my god!” Reggied yelped back, his eyes wide with a confused panic.

“Oh my god! What does this mean?!” She looked at Reggie, as if he would know. Reggie’s eyes were wide with fear and panic.

“You expect me to know? I didn’t know I could even throw up!” Reggie screeched back as he shakily got on the balls of his feet and stared into the toilet, his eyes wide. Julie stood up and began pacing back and forth with her hands grabbing her hair.

“Oh my god, what’re we gonna do?” Julie muttered as Reggie continued to stare at the purple liquid sitting and staring back at him.

Then they heard faint rhythmic steps running through the house and 2 faint but very familiar voices.

“Reggie?”

“Dude, where are you?”

“Luke and Alex.” Julie breathed out before they saw the 2 ghosts appear in the doorway.

“Julie?” Luke said, confusion thick in his voice. Both Alex and Luke looked at Julie with faint confusion before they looked at Reggie. Both their eyes grew big. Luke seemed to freeze in place in the doorway but Alex quickly ran towards Reggie.

“What happened, Reg?” Alex said as he plopped down next to Reggie, his hand instinctively going to Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie looked at Alex with watery eyes, relief clearly shining through them. Then Reggie just kind of fell into Alex, which Alex held him. Reggie seemed to visibly relax into Alex.

Alex looked at Luke and nodded towards Reggie’s limp form. Luke quickly got the memo and ran over and sat on the edge of the bathtub and put a hand on Reggie’s back.

Alex looked at Julie. “What happened to him?” Then his face scrunched up, “And what is that smell?” Then Alex must’ve seen the purple stuff floating in the toilet water. His face fell and he looked at Luke, then Reggie, and finally back at Julie, his eyes wide with panic as he hugged Reggie.

“D-did he…?” Alec trailed off. He didn’t need to finish. Julie nodded.

“Yeah. I woke up this morning and he was down here dry heaving. Then it kept happening and then I went to grab a shirt for him and I came back and he threw up that stuff.” Julie gestured towards the toilet. Luke looked at the purple stuff and grimaced. Alex just looked mortified.

“He threw up?” Luke said, astonished. Then his voice flared up. “He threw up! How’s that even possible?”

“‘M sorry, guys.” Reggie mumbled into Alex’s shoulder, which pulled Luke down from his loud voice.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Reg.” Luke responded quietly and he patted Reggie’s back lightly as he sat back down on the edge of the tub. Reggie just shook his head into Alex’s shoulder. Julie walked back over to the three boys and sat next to Luke on the edge of the bathtub. Alex began to lightly rock himself and Reggie back and forth, like what siblings would do.

Reggie just let a continuous stream of “‘M sorry” only broken up by sobs. Luke’s hand was gently but firmly gripping Reggie shoulder. They all froze when Reggie murmured something into Alex’s shoulder.

“‘M sorry, don’t be mad dad.” Alex’s eyes softened immensely and he pulled Reggie into a tighter hug. Luke slipped off the edge of the bathtub and sat down next to the 2 ghosts and wrapped his arms around the other 2 band members.

“Reggie, he’s not here. You’re alright, no ones mad.” Alex’s eyes briefly flickered up from where he had his head resting on Reggie’s head to look at Luke. 

“Yeah, Reg. No one’s mad, we’re just worried.” Luke said gently to Reggie, who seemed to have started letting the exhaustion hit him and pull him into the dark pit of sleep. Within minutes, Reggie bonelessly pass out in Alex. Once he was sure Reggie was asleep, Alex looked at the both Luke and Julie.

“Why does he feel so hot?” Alex whispered to the other 2, the concern for the youngest of the 3 boys heavy in his mind. Luke’s brow crinkled together as he too felt the heat coming off of Reggie’s body.

Alex looked at them both before he craned his neck to look back at Reggie. He was still asleep, but Alex’s could feel his hoodie sticking to Reggie’s sweaty face. The heat coming off of Reggie was making Alex start to sweat. He looked back at Luke and Julie.

“What’re we going to do?” Alex asked and Luke’s mouth dropped open slightly in a look of awe as he looked between Alex and the toilet.

“Alex, are kidding me? You know that color, it seems pretty obvious to me who’s behind this.” Luke said harshly and Julie looked confused before she caught on.

“Caleb.” Julie breathed out. Luke suddenly stood up and Alex looked surprised as he held Reggie on the floor.

“Where’re you going, Luke?” Alex hissed and Julie stood up and grabbed Luke’s arm.

“I’m not letting him get away with hurting Reggie. I’m going to find someone to help.” Luke said and Alex’s eyes widened as he knew who Luke was talking about. Who he was going to find. Alex was about to respond when Reggie squirmed in Alex’s arms. Reggie groaned as he moved, attempting to curl around himself.

“Reggie.” Alex breathed gently. “Hey Reggie. Come on, you’ve gotta stop that.”

Reggie suddenly stopped and then he flexed inward as if a bolt of pain zined through his body. Reggie hissed in pain and pulled his knees up so they were against Alex’s arm. Alex could feel the wet tears start to dampen his hoodie. Luke dropped onto his knees and wrapped his arms around Reggie and Alex. Julie quickly joined in and they stayed curled on the floor together, Reggie trembling in between all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you are, you ravenous Alex and Luke wolves! They're finally here. I hope you all are happy they're FINALLY here! Thank you for reading! You guys are too freaking nice in the comments, I'm always so overwelmed with happyness when I read your wonderful comments! I seriously can't thank you enough for the kudos, comments, or bookmarks. I love all of you so much!
> 
> Unsaid Emily may have come on a few times well I was writing this... and will many more times.  
> If you noticed there is now a Archive Warning...that'll be comeing up later😊  
> ANywasy I hope you all are having a fantasic week, or if you've been having a sucky week then I hope it gets better and if not then I hope next week is better!  
> Thank you guys again for everything!  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> Thanks for coming to my TED Talk note  
> -Emma


	5. I Didn't Know Where Else To Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie throws up on Alex's shoulder and it sends Alex into a deep dive of memories of a night that he saw an incredibly vunrable version of Reggie  
> Luke has some plans of his own

The 4 of them hugged for what felt like hours, just embracing each other. The calmness ended when Reggie muttered something into Alex’s shoulder and Luke’s arm that none of them could decipher.

“What was that, Reg?” Alex asked calmly as he lightly brushed his hand through Reggie’s hair. Reggie never answered because the next thing Alex knew was there was purple liquid running down his back, the side of his neck, a bit of it had landed on his face, and a small amount on the ends of his hair. Reggie’s eyes widened as he realized what happened, his eyes flooding with panic and tears.

“Oh my god, Alex. ‘M sorry. I didn’ mean to.” Reggie cried and Alex pulled him into a gentle but comforting hug.

“It’s fine, Reg. It’s nothing I can’t deal with.” Alex said but Reggie just continued to cry. Alex looked at Julie and Luke, who had pulled away from the hug. Luke’s expression looked crossed between pure anger and worry and terror. Julie on the other hand look nervous but calm as she rubbed Reggie’s back as he shook.

Alex took to slowly rocked them back and forth and masashing Reggie’s head. Alex had to close his eyes from the sudden rush of memories of the day when Reggie had turned up at his house in the pouring rain with his bass and a bag.

_______

It had been a month since Alex had come out to his parents and every moment in his house was filled with heavy tension. Anyone could feel it in the air. It was Saturday at 11:14 pm and Alex had snuck downstairs to grab a cup of water, both his parents were out but his little sister was asleep in her room. She was 10 and didn’t understand why at family dinner’s his parents would shot glares at Alex from their place at the table.

His little sister would leave glasses all over the house, which would send their mom into a frenzy of cleaning. The house was a decent house, it was bigger than Reggie’s family’s house. Alex’s mom always kept the house clean, she cleaned the house about 3 times a week. Him and his sister’s rooms were completely their own. They would clean them on their own, or at least Alex would. His sister was still pretty small so his mom would help her clean.

That day it had been pouring rain all day. They had practice as well, if they heard back from Bobby’s source then they would be playing the Orpheum! They would need to practice more everyday to be ready for the Orpheum. It was crazy that they went from playing a book club 3 weeks ago to seeing if they would be playing one of the best stages in LA.

But Alex was nervous. For the Orpheum, obviously but mostly for Reggie and Luke. Both of their home lives have been getting worse. At least twice a week Luke would come in fuming for practice from his house. No one needed to ask him why because they all knew. Reggie seemed to be the worse of them all. He came to practice most days with tears fresh in his eyes. A week ago he passed out in the middle of practice.

It was utterly terrifying. One second they were finishing a song in practice and then the next Reggie was on the ground unconscious with a large blood stain on his shirt. Bobby had called the ambulance as he and Luke tried to figure out what was happening. They’d found a deep slice in Reggie’s side. Reggie woke up and in his daze he had told them about his dad and his parents. 

Alex had known that Reggie’s parents fought all the time but he’d never known that his dad would hurt him. When the ambulance finally came they whisked Reggie and the him and Luke went in the ambulance with Reggie. Bobby drove to there.

Luke told Alex about how one night Reggie had turned up to his house covered in blood coming from his stomach. Luke hadn’t made Reggie tell him that day but Luke pieced it together. After that all 3 of the other bandmates tried to get Reggie to stay with one of them but Reggie insisted that he would be fine at his house with his parents. They made him swear that he would tell them the moment stuff got bad.

Now Alex was taking a drink from his glass as he walked back upstairs when there was a knock on the door. Alex didn’t know who it would be at this time but he quickly put his glass on the table and went to the door. He looked through the small window on the top. Alex breathed a sigh of relief and then the concern hit him. Alex quickly pulled the door open and looked at who was in front of him.

Reggie was standing there with his bass and a bag. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy but Alex knew that the wetness on his cheek wasn’t the raindrops. Reggie was shivering harshly in the cold night.

“Reggie?” Alex said, pulling Reggie’s eyes from where they had been glued to the floor. The look in Reggie’s eyes was enough to make tears form in his eyes. When Reggie looked at Alex, it seemed to hit him that he was at Alex’s house.

“I-I’m sorry.” Reggie whispered, his voice tight with a building sob. “I-I didn’t know where else to go.”

Alex immediately went to Reggie and wrapped him in a tight hug. Reggie started to cry as Alex hugged him. “It’s alright, Reg. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

The two boys pulled away from the hug and Alex let Reggie inside. Alex took Reggie’s bags and gently placed them down near the stairs before leading Reggie into the living room and they sat down. Alex lightly rubbed Reggie’s back as they sat.

“What happened? Was it your parents? Do you need to go to the ER?” Alex asked, his anxiety building. Reggie shook his head violently as he put his elbows on his knees and placed his head in his hands, dragging in shaky breaths.

“They were fighting and...I-I knew things were gonna go bad, so I packed some stuff and climbed out my window and ran here. I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Reggie said between sobs. 

“Reggie, you know you can always stay here. I’m going to go get you some water and then you can go get some sleep, alright?” Alex asked gently and Reggie just nodded in his hands. 

Alex pulled Reggie into a tight hug, which Reggie gladly took. They sat like that for a while before they pulled apart so Alex could get the water and they could get to sleep.

_______

Alex pulled open his eyes and looked that the others.

‘What’re we going to do?’ He mouthed to the others. Julie shrugged but Luke’s eyes widened and anger flared in his eyes once again. Alex knew that they were going to have to talk to Willie, try and figure everything out. Alex was going to do anything to keep all of them away from Caleb if they could help it.

Suddenly Alex felt the his hoodie start to stick grossly to his back and his hair staring to feel glued to his face. He felt Reggie start to go limp in his arms as he exhausted himself for must’ve been hundredth time that day. Reggie’s breathing finally began to calm down as he saged into Alex more.

A few seconds later, Reggie was breathing evenly, his forehead resting on Alex’s shoulder. Alex’s hoodie was sticking to his back with the purple liquid, he really wanted to change but he didn’t want to leave Reggie.

Alex looked up when Julie lightly grabbed his hand. 

“You should go change. Me and Luke can stay here with him.” Julie said but Luke jerked his head towards her.

“No, you can stay here with Reg. I need to talk to Alex.” Luke said with badly hidden anger in his voice. Julie looks uncertain but agrees none the less. Alex carefully and gently moves Reggie so that he is laying on his back with his head on Julie’s lap.

Alex is finally able to see how sick Reggie looks. His skin has a thin sheen of sweat overtop the pale almost waxy looking skin. His normally pushed back hair is slicked to his forehead and his cheeks are red and fiery, a great contrast against his pale skin. It almost makes Alex skin seeing his friend like that.

Luke must’ve felt the same way from the way he swallows heavily and clenches his fists as he stands up with Alex and basically drags him out of the bathroom. Alex manages to catch the door frame and stop Luke for a moment.

“We’ll be back soon.” Alex says and Julie just nods and waves them away. 

Alex and Luke poof into the studio. Luke immediately takes his dark storm cloud and stomps over to Alex’s bag of clothes and grabs a pink t-shirt and throws it at him. 

“Hurry and change, we need to go find Willie and give Caleb some sh-” Luke started but Alex cut him off.

“Luke, calm down. We need to tell Julie before we go and we need to find out where Willie is.” Alex said as he pulled his hoodie off and his t-shirt on. Luke groaned slightly and nodded.

“Alright, we go tell Julie and then we go f-” Luke said but the studio doors were beginning to be pulled open.

They both looked to see a very familiar ghost standing there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi peeps! Who could this ghost be....🤨 I hope you guys liked the Alex and Reggie friendship clip! I'm really going to be using more of an Alex POV a lot of the time now. Well I was writing once again Unsaid Emily came on and that birthed the flashback of Alex and Reggie. IM SORRY I couldn't help myself. Thank you for reading and for all your wonderful comments on the last chapter! They always make me so happy to hear what you guys think! Im sorry for any and all mistakes I missed well editing.   
> I hope you liked this chapter and thank you for the kudos and comments (again)
> 
> I hope you all have an amazing day, and if today wasn't a good day then I hope tomorrow is better!  
> Thank you for reading this!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


	6. 40 Minutes Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to the night Reggie turned up to practice hurt but hides it until disater srucks  
> Alex and Luke try to get an answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: There is an axiety attack in this, it might now be very indepth but just incase you are triggered be carefull. I updated the rated to teen because there is some swearing in this chapter. There will ONLY be cursing in this chapter unless I put anymore of Reggie's father. There are mild swears but other than that this is good!  
> Happy Reading!

Reggie tried to ignore the burning pain in his side as he stumbled and jogged to the studio for practice. He could feel the tears streaming down his face as the blood dripped down his side. His breathing was shallow and weezy as he stumbled into a bench to rest for the 6th time since he set off from his parent’s house.

Reggie leaned back into the bench and squeezed his eyes close as the pain shot through his body. He couldn’t believe his dad had actually done that. Reggie was expecting a punch or a slap but not using a knife and cutting him.

\----

Reggie was hiding in his room, not wanting to go downstairs since his parents were fighting and it was intense. His dad had come back from “work” drunk and Reggie’s mom had told Reggie to go upstairs. 

Now he was already to be late for practice and Luke was going to be so mad but Reggie could hear the venom in their voices as they screamed at each other and Reggie knew that if he left know something bad would happen.

So Reggie sat there for close to 10 minutes before he heard the final screams of the argument and the front door slamming. Reggie let out a shaky breath and quickly grabbed his bass, which was gently packed away in its case, before he quietly opened the door and slipped out of his room.

He crept down the hall and down the stairs and peeked around the corner and saw his dad sitting at the small table with his face buried in his hands. A large bottle of alcohol was sitting next to him on the table.

On the table there was some uncut broccoli with the knife still sitting on the cutting board. Reggie could smell the stench of alcohol from his place at the bottom of the stairs. Then when Reggie saw his dad was grabbing the bottle and drinking from the top, he got a sudden surge of bravery and was compelled to stop him.

Reggie leaned his bass against the wall and stepped forward and reached out to grab the bottle from his dad. Then his dad’s hand was locked around his wrist and there was a fire of anger burning in Reggie’s father’s eyes as he stared at his son.

“The hell do you want?” Reggie’s dad asked, dangerously low. Reggie felt a shot of fear rack him but took a breath and composed himself.

“You shouldn’t be drinking this much, dad. I’ll help you g-” Reggie was cut off by his dad abruptly standing up, his hand still locked on his son’s wrist tightly. Reggie felt tears pick his eyes as he watched his dad.

Reggie wrenched his hand from his dad’s grip. He could feel the bruise already forming from where his hand was tightly latched on his wrist. His dad made another swipe at the bottle but Reggie grabbed it first and held it a tightly gripped hand.

It surprised himself that he did it. His dad’s anger burned brighter and he grabbed for something else on the table. At first Reggie thought he was grabbing the broccoli but it soon became that he was getting something else.

Before Reggie knew it he felt a burning pain in his right side. He dropped the bottle and clutched his side as he leaned into the table. The bottle shattered on the floor and glass and alcohol spilled over the titled floor.

“Shit!” Reggie’s dad yelled as he stepped away and out of range of the shards. His dad looked back up at Reggie, no consideration for the fact that Reggie was bleeding. “Now, you’ve done it.”

Reggie’s dad walked away towards the back door and slammed the door shut once he left. Reggie felt a gasp leave him as he sunk to the floor. He pushed his hands into the gash in his side, the pain flaring inside him. It hurt to breath, much less move.

He didn’t know how long he was sitting there but he finally looked at the time. He realize he had basically missed the entire practice time. Reggie pushed himself on his feet, hissing in pain as he stood.

Reggie stumbled over to his bass, not realizing there was a small pool of blood sitting where he has been on the ground, as well as a smear of blood on the wall. He grabbed his bass and slung it over his shoulder, groaning but pushed forward.

He eventually stumbled through the doorway and into the cool night. 

\---------

“Where is he? He’s never this late.” Luke grumbled for the hundredth time in the past few minutes. Alex groaned as he and Bobby sat on the couch watching Luke pace around the studio. 

“Luke, we have the same answer we had 2 minutes ago. We. Don’t. Know.” Bobby said, clearly annoyed but they all were worried for the youngest member of the band. Alex’s anxiety had been worked up to nearly a boil as they waited for Reggie.

Sure, Reg was 40 minutes late. They all had been late at least 3 times since they formed Sunset Curve but there was a strange tension in the air as they waited. Alex knew something was wrong in the pit of his stomach. He knew the others felt it too.

Another 10 minutes passed before they heard the gate open roughly outside and a few stumbling steps before Reggie pulled open the doors of the studio. All their head whipped towards his direction. 

Reggie was pale and shivering. His bass was slung over his shoulder and his arms were wrapped tightly around his middle. Alex’s brows furrowed but Luke wasted no time walking up to Reggie and scanning over his strange body language.

“Reggie, where’ve you been?” Luke asked, his voice holding anger and concern. Reggie looked at them all guiltily, his face paling even more.

“I-it doesn’t matter. Let’s just start practice.” Reggie said, his voice strung tightly. Luke gave him an uncertain look before he slowly walked over to his 6 string. Alex and Bobby stood up together. Bobby went over to his rhythm guitar, watching Reggie uncertainty the whole time.

Alex slowly made he way to Reggie, who was unpacking his bass. He was being very tender with his side, wincing every few movements. Alex lightly grabbed onto Reggie’s shoulder, pulling his attention away from his bass and to Alex.

“You sure, you’re okay?” Alex asked, watching Reggie’s pale face. Reggie gave him a wobbly smile and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Alex wasn’t convinced and he could tell the others weren’t either but they could grill Reggie about it later. So Alex went to his drums and they started practice.

\--------

They were finishing up a new song when Reggie stumbled towards his amp, gasping quietly. Alex looked over and stood up. Reggie had gone stark white as he fumbled to get his bass off. Luke was busy working with Bobby on the chords. Alex quietly moved from behind his drumkit and walked over to Reggie, as he awkwardly slipped his bass of and leaned it on the stand.

Alex reached Reggie just as Reggie’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed into Alex. Alex let out a yelp as he laid Reggie down. He held Reggie’s head in his lap. Luke and Bobby were there too. Bobby anxiously standing behind Alex and Luke had plopped down next to Reggie.

“Oh my god! Reg?” Luke yelled as he lightly tapped Reggie’s face in a attempt to wake him. Reggie stayed unconscious. Then the 3 boys saw the red stain on Reggie’s shirt and Bobby shot out of the studio doors.

Luke and Alex shared concerned glances to each other before Luke looked back at the bassist. He slowly and gently moved to lift up Reggie’s shirt and they saw it. The ugly slash in his side with blood smeared all over his stomach.

Alex gasped. “Oh my god.” Tears filled both their eyes. 

Luke’s hands clenched around Reggie’s shirt as his own tears spilled over and rolled down his cheeks.

Then Reggie’s eyes fluttered halfway open and both Alex and Luke went into brother mode. Reggie groaned and pressed his hands into his side. Luke lightly pushed his hands away as he pushed his own hands onto Reggie’s wound. Reggie grimaced.

“Hey, Reg.” Luke said as gently as he could. Alex brushed Reggie’s unfurly hair off of his forehead. Reggie gave a weak smile that turned into a grimace.

“‘M sorry, didn’ tell you.” Reggie murmured to them. 

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Reg. Bobby’s calling the ambulance right now.” Alex said but it seemed to make Reggie’s eyes get a little wider in fear.

“Nonono, no hospital. ‘M fine.” Reggie muttered softly. He must’ve been lucid enough to see both Luke and Alex open their mouths to protest. “Dad’ll find out, he’ll be pissed I told anyone.”

Alex’s mouth dropped open as he eyes looked at Luke’s, bewildered. Luke’s were less shocked than they should’ve been. It scared Alex at how calm and collected Luke was right now. And that Reggie was bleeding on the floor.

“Reg, what happened?” Luke asked gently and calmly, clearly trying to hold himself together for not just Reggie, but Alex too. Reggie sighed and closed his eyes.

“Mom and dad were fighting because my dad came come drunk. Mom left and dad drank some more and I just didn’ want him to. So I tried to stop him and then this happened.” Reggie gestured towards his side as Luke kept his hands pushed into his side.

Alex felt tears start to fall down his own cheeks. Then as Bobby ran through the studio doors, Reggie fell unconscious once again. Alex and Luke and Bobby all started yelled at each other and Reggie in panicked voices.

It all blurred together for Alex, his anxiety hijacking his system. His breathing became too quick and he felt like he was drowning. Being pushed under with no source of air. He felt hot and sweat but cold at the sametime. 

Alex tried to push down the attack but he couldn’t. He was watching his best friend bleed on the floor and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

\------

Luke knew when Alex started having a panic attack he needed to do something. Bobby had been there but only help a few times. Reggie was always there for Alex but Reggie couldn’t be there to help. 

He just wanted the ambulance to arrive so they could help his best friend and Luke could help his other best friend. Alex’s breathing became too short as his eyes widened as he stared at Reggie.

Luke just wanted to help his friends and he couldn’t stop putting pressure on Reggie’s side to help Alex, and he couldn’t help Alex without risking Reggie’s life. 

“Alex! Hey!” Luke said loudly, knocking Alex out of his trace of staring at Reggie. Luke needed to ground Alex. “Alex, I need you to take some deep breaths for me.”

Alex made a horrible wheezing sound as he shakily placed Reggie’s head on the ground and stumbled away. He put his hands on his knees and wheezed in and out in a desperate attempt to fill his lungs with air.

“I-I can’t.” Alex said breathlessly, his face reddening. 

“You can, Alex. Breath with me.” Bobby said gently, calming the panicked tone that stood there moments earlier. Bobby gently put a hand on Alex’s shoulder and took in exaggerated breaths for Alex to fallow.

Luke suddenly felt helpless. He’d helped Reggie before when he’d turned up at his house but he’d been awake. He’d helped Alex but Luke wasn’t holding pressure to a bleeding wound. 

Just as Bobby finally got Alex back to them and his breath back to a normal pace the EMT’s arrive and it all just blobbed together.

___________

“Hey, Alex. Hi Luke.” Willie said as he walked into the studio. There was no happy tone to it like there normally was when Alex would see with Willie. Alex and Luke shared a glance before Alex looked back at Willie. 

He was wringing his hands anxiously, very unlike his normal carefree persona. Alex stepped forward towards Willie.

“Hey, are you okay?” Alex asked as Willie blurted out his own question.

“Are any of you feeling weird?”

Both Luke and Alex were taken aback. They shared eye contact with each other before their gaze landed back on Willie.

“What?” Luke asked from behind Alex, his brows laced together in confusion. Willie looked between them a few times, his mouth opening and closing twice before he talked.

“I just need to know. Are either of you, or Reggie feeling… like how you felt when you had the street dogs? The night you guys died.” Willie asked, as he eyes flickered between the two others. Alex felt his face drop and pale as Luke marched up beside Alex.

“Why do you ask?” Luke asked, his voice firm and defensive but somehow gentle. Willie looked somewhat desperately at Alex and Luke.

“Just please answer me. I need to know.” Willie asked softly. Alex blinked slowly and nodded.

“Yeah, Reggie’s been… sick all day.” Alex supplied and Willie let out a shuttering breath as his face paled slightly.

“Oh god.” Willie breathed quietly to himself. “I didn’t think he’d go this far.”

Luke’s face began to scrunch in anger but Alex put a hand on his chest and pushed him back before he’d do anything too rash. Alex stepped in front of Luke, who gave a small irritated grumble in response but didn’t resist.

“Willie. What’s going on?” Alex asked calmly. Willie had a look of terror etched on his face that sent ghostbumps radiating up Alex’s arms and legs. Luke grabbed Alex’s arm tightly and squeezed with an impossible grip. 

“Caleb. He’s… he did something. Something bad to Reggie. It’s called the Second Death and it’ll make him fade.” Willie looked between Luke and Alex wit tears welling in his eyes. They all knew what the next words were but hoped that they wouldn’t be true. 

“Forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi peeps! Soo... sorry for the wait. I was trying to update another one of my stories but I actually just needed to write some more Luke, Alex, and Reggie! Sorry for hurting Reggie so much. I can't give him a break😂 and sorry for no Julie this chapter but she WILL be in the next one, I promise.
> 
> I've been super busy with school, sports, and my dance training. I finally got around to finishing this chapter. Caleb will be appering soon and the 3 overprotective mamma bears will come out soon!  
> Willie's here too! Yay! There will be some Willex, obviously. I love them and if season 2 doesn't give us at LEAST a duet and a kiss between them I will rage. Also more Alex dancing with Dirty Candy because that's iconic! Kenny Ortega is too good for the world! Love him!  
> Sorry for that ramble.  
> Thank you for reading and all you're sweet comments! You are way to nice, I literally can't😂  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


	7. Are Either of You Going to Tell Me What's Going On?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Luke learn something from Willie  
> Julie tried her best to keep herself calm as she waits for the guys to come back from th studio

Julie was extremely worried to say the least. Luke and Alex had been gone for 15 minutes and Reggie had been throwing up more. It was taking a lot to keep Julie from completely freaking out.

So now Julie was kneeling behind Reggie as he shook and puked the purple gunk up and into the toilet. Reggie was shaking like a leaf and the heat coming off of him hadn’t ceased, it seemed to have only gotten worse.

“You’re going to be fine, Reg.” Julie said as she gently rubbed his back. She had no idea how Reggie could’ve possibly had so much in him, since he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Reggie let out a pained groan that made tears come to Julie’s eyes.

She hated Caleb. She hated him for doing this to one of the most genuine and sweet person Julie knew. How could he have possibly done something so horrible to Reggie? 

Reggie’s retches pulled Julie from her pool of anger. He pitched forward once again and vomited violently into the toilet bowl before he collapsed bonelessly into the toilet and rested his head on the edge of the toilet seat.

His eyes fluttered between being half lidded and closed. Reggie’s skin had an almost green hue to it under the start white skin. His hair was all over the place, some pieces plastered to his forehead from sweat others slicked back from when Alex combed through his hair.

Julie’s eyes kept flickering towards the door, hoping to see Alex and Luke come back. She was getting really worried. What if Caleb somehow got to them? And she couldn’t do anything about it.

Finally she heard Luke and Alex poof next to her. Julie’s head whipped towards the door and she saw 2 familiar ghosts standing next to her. They both wore looks between sadness and fear, Luke’s eyes were red rimmed and puffy as they both moved next to Reggie. Alex was in a fresh shirt as he switched places with Julie and put his hand on Reggie’s trembling form. Luke planted himself on the side of the tub and had his hand resting on Reggie’s shoulder.

“Hey Reggie. You doing any better?” Alex asked gently, Reggie just leaned towards him and rested his sweaty forehead against Alex. Alex instinctively wrapped his arms around him. 

Julie’s impatience got the best of her when she saw the terrified look both Luke and Alex shared.

“Are either of you going to tell me what’s going on?” Julie asked, trying her best not to sound harsh but failing halfway through. Luke and Alex looked at each other again as they silently decided who would tell Julie. Alex cleared his throat.

“So when I was changing, Willie came by and he told us something.” Alex said, remembering and reciting Willie’s words perfectly.

___________

“What do you mean he’ll be gone forever?” Luke basically yelled at Willie. Willie’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he looked between the two ghosts.

“Caleb, he… instead of doing the stamp he curses an object and if a ghost comes into contact with it they get cursed. It’s another method of getting ghosts to join the club, The Second Death. It makes the ghost go through all the pain they went through when they originally died and it make the pain get worse and worse until… they fade.” Willie said, tears in his eyes. 

Alex’s face paled as he let the words sink in. He knew the pain that the street dogs gave them, it was horrible. To think that Reggie was going through that again but worse was almost to much. 

Reggie had been the first to feel sick when they were walking back to the Orpheum. Then he had doubled over and puked. Both Alex and Luke had tried to help him they soon fell victim to the street dogs as well.

By the time Bobby had found them, Reggie was vomiting blood and he had collapsed. Luke was dry heaving and Alex was finishing off vomiting up the street dog. They all had locked their hands together as they felt the food poison attack their stomachs. 

Then people were pulling Reggie away from them. Luke had screamed out for him in his delirious state. Then Luke was pulled away from Alex and then they all were loaded onto the ambulance.

Reggie had died first. Alex and Luke were gripping each other’s hands tightly and looking at each other. When Alex looked back he saw dead eyes staring back at him. The EMT’s tried to save him but once they gave up on Reggie, Luke was gone. 

Now here Willie was saying Reggie was going through all that pain and suffering only to get it shoved back at him. Caleb had done this to him. Alex had never felt such hatred towards someone in his whole life. He wanted to kill, even though he was technically already dead, Caleb for doing this to someone as sweet as Reggie.

Alex was yanked from his pool of anger by a loud sob that erupted from behind him. He turned to see Luke, tears streaming down his cheeks, stumble back towards the chair and slide to the floor, his back against the edge of the chair.

Willie wrapped his arms around himself as Alex quickly went over to Luke and kneeled down next to him. Luke touched his forehead to his knees as another sob broke from his body. Alex winced for his friend as he put moved so he was sitting next to Luke, their shoulders were touching.

They sat together for a while as Luke slowly calmed down. Luke leaned into Alex’s shoulder as the last few tears fell from his eyes. Then before Alex could comprehend what was happening, Luke shot onto his feet and looked at Alex, his gaze hard.

“Come on.” Luke said and Alex jerked his head back and looked at Luke, his brows furrowed.

“What?” Both Alex and Willie said together. Luke looked at them both, looking slightly offended.

“You’re serious? We’re going to see Caleb.” Luke said like it was the most obvious thing. Alex stood up, his mouth gaping but before he could say anything, Willie beat him to it.

“No, man. Seriously. You don’t know what Caleb would do-” Willie tried to reason with Luke, but he shot Willie a dangerous ‘don’t mess with me’ look. It would’ve been more intimidating if his eyes weren’t so red and puffy.

“I’m going, wether either of you are or aren’t.” Luke said. Alex and Willie shared a look before they looked back at Luke.

___________

“Oh my god! So that’s what going on with Reggie?” Julie exclaimed as she looked between Luke and Alex with wide eyes. They both nodded. “So, what’re we going to do?”

Alex and Luke shared a look, a conversation being exchanged between them that Julie couldn’t pick up on. Alex was lightly rocking both himself and Reggie gently as they sat on the bathroom floor. Luke’s eyes flickered over to Julie a few times and to Reggie as well. 

Finally Luke broke his eyes away from Alex’s and he looked at Julie. His bloodshot, red, and puffy eyes staring at her with an unreadable expression. His next words froze her in place.

“Me and Alex are going to Caleb.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi peeps! Thank you for reading! I know it's been a little while but I was super swamped with school and sports and I had some issues with my hip but now I'm fine and back writing! This chapter gave me a bit of writers block for how I was going to write it and how it was going to lead to the plot but I got it figured out (obviously)
> 
> So the next few chapters will be A LOT of Alex, Luke, and Willie (and the special ghost who we all "love") Julie and Reggie will be there too with a bunch of surprises, so don't worry they will have some stuff going on too!! Anyways, I hope you all have a good Halloween (if you celebrate it) What are you guys being, if you are dressing up? I was Reggie at my school today and I played bass in my band class and I felt like a true Reggie XD I would love to hear what you guys are being (or was)  
> Stay safe if you're doing anything for Halloween!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and liked reading it! Thank you for all your amazing comments and kudos! They are always so nice and motivate me to keep writing, so thank you! I love you all so much<3
> 
> Happy Early Halloween  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy  
> Love you all <3  
> Until next time....  
> -Emma


	8. We Can't Lose Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie doesn't agree with Luke and Alex's decision  
> Luke and Julie have a talk

They all sat in silence after Luke announced what he and Alex would be doing. Surprisingly it was Reggie who spoke up, his voice shaky and rough.

“You guys can’t go. It’s not safe.” Reggie’s eyes were big and watery, puffy and red from all the crying he had been doing. Julie couldn’t help but agree with Reggie.

“Reggie’s right. You guys can’t go, it’s too dangerous.” Julie said. Luke looked somewhat betrayed that Julie would side with them not going. Alex seemed to understand where the other 2 band members were coming from.

“No but Reg, this is your life. Or afterlife. I’m not gonna play around with that. I’m not losing you again.” Luke said, his mind giving him the unwanted memories of seeing Reggie’s empty dead eyes. 

“Willie would be coming with us. He’ll help us get answers. We’re meeting him in the museum soon.” Luke said defensively but his voice softened at the end because Reggie dropped his head into his hands and let out a shaky breath.

Luke crawled down onto the cramped empty space between the toilet and Reggie and crossed his legs. His hand stayed on Reggie’s shoulder the whole time. Reggie looked at him past Alex’s form.

“Alright, Reg. We won’t go, alright. You just get some rest. You’re going to be okay.” Luke said gently and began to hum some melody he had worked up in his brain. Alex continued to rock both himself and Reggie gently. Julie caught Alex giving Luke confused glances. 

Alex and Luke did this a lot. They seemed to be having a conversation but telepathically. It annoyed Julie to say the least. Her and Flynn could read each other just by one glance but Alex and Luke just seemed to be exchanging words in each other’s minds.

After only a few minutes of Alex’s rocking and Luke’s humming, Reggie was passed out against Alex. He looked so human, they all did when they were sleeping. It was always crazy to see just how alive they looked but Reggie looked that much more alive, with his sweaty forehead and red eyes. He looked so alive.

Julie clenched her jaw as she looked at Alex and Luke expectantly, waiting for what they were communicating about to be shared. Neither of them said a thing.

“Are you 2 going to share it with the group?” Julie asked in a quiet whisper yell. Luke and Alex shared a glance before Luke nodded towards the hallway. Julie stood up, as did Luke, and they walked out into the hallway outside the bathroom.

Julie crossed her arms in front of her chest as Luke closed the bathroom door gently behind them before he turns to face Julie. Julie jerked her head down and raised her eyebrows ready for Luke to share. Luke looked around as if expecting someone to be listening.

“Alright, you gotta promise not to freak out, okay?” Luke asked. Julie rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, just tell me.” Julie said impatiently, just wanting to know what the boys were planning. Luke sighed before he started.

“So I-I know we told you and Reg that we were staying but,” he leaned towards her and breathed out. “Have you seen him? He’s not looking good and we need to find out how we can help him.”

“You guys are going.” Julie said the last sentence herself, having already fitting the pieces together. Before she could respond Luke began again.

“I know we shouldn’t have said that but Reg clearly isn't getting better and he doesn’t have much time left. Willie’s gonna be there the whole time and-” Luke rambled but Julie cut him off by holding a hand up.

“I get it, Luke. I’ll stay here with him and you guys go. You’re right. We can’t lose him so go figure out how we can help. I have a feeling the ‘power of hugs’ isn’t going to fix this.” Julie said, giving a small smile at the reference of what Reggie says saved them from fading after the Orpheum. Luke smile too before he flashed a looked at the bathroom door and returning his gaze to Julie.

“We should leave before he wakes up.” Luke said and Julie nods.

Right before Luke opens the door, Julie pulls him into a fierce hug as tears escape her eyes.

“Just…be safe, okay?” She breaths out as Luke’s arms wrap around her.

“I promise.” Luke says into her hair. 

They stand there for a little while before they pulled apart and Luke opens the door. Alex and Reggie are still in the same spot on the floor together. Reggie’s cheek was squished against Alex’s shoulder as Alex gently rocked them back and forth as he ran his hand through Reggie’s sweaty locks.

Alex looked back at them and seemed to get the memo that he and Luke were leaving. He slowly detached Reggie, Julie and Luke both came over and helped him maneuver Reggie onto the floor.

Once Reggie was on the floor, he curled up into a small ball. Luke folded Reggie’s red flannel and slipped it under his head to act as a pillow. Alex and Luke looked at each other after Reggie was situated before they walked out of the bathroom. Julie quickly scrambled after them.

Alex and Luke stopped in the hall as Julie slipped out of the bathroom and closed the door. She turned to them. Alex looked rather anxious but he seemed to be keeping it at bay. Luke, on the other hand, was bouncing, ready to leave.

“Alright, you guys be safe, okay?” Julie said before she ran forward and hugged them both. The hight different between herself and Alex was made quite clear when he leaned forward to return the hug.

“We’ll be fine, Jules.” Alex whispered gently.

They pulled away and Julie wiped a few tears away before she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at them expectantly. Luke and Alex exchanged a confused look before looking back at Julie.

“Are you guys going to go or….?” Julie said and Luke’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape as he understood what Julie meant.

“Yeah! Yeah, we,” Alex cleared his throat and looked at Luke. “We should get going.”

“Bye guys.” Julie said and gave them a little wave before they poofed away.

Julie took in a deep breath. Her worry and fear for the boys haunted her as they went to confront Caleb. She slowly turned around and walked back to the bathroom that contained Reggie.

________

Luke and Alex poofed into the museum and looked around. Willie was supposed to be meeting them here so they could plan out what they were going to do once they got into the Ghost Club.

“Alex? Luke?” A familiar voice behind them said. Both ghosts whirled around to face Willie, with his helmet still on, who was holding his board and walking towards them. He didn’t have his normal carefree expression, instead he wore a concerned and anxious expression.

“Hey.” Alex breathed out as he looked into his boyfriend’s eyes. They looked at each other for a while before Luke looked between them and then lost his patience.

“Okay, I’m totally on team Willex but we have to figure out what we’re gonna do.” Luke said hastily. 

Willie nodded and closed his eyes. “Yeah. I’m sorry, so right now Caleb is rehearsing for tonight.” Willie opened his mouth to say more but Luke started talking.

“Willie should be the one to talk to Caleb.” Luke said. Alex looked mortified at the thought.

“What? No, we all should.” Alex said, sounding almost mad at Luke when he said it. Alex looked at Willie for back up but his face told him otherwise. “No, Willie.

“Alex, it’s the safest bet. I can’t have Caleb hurting either one of you.” Willie said as he grabbed and squeezed Alex’s hand. 

“Willie….if he does something to you….” Alex couldn’t finish the thought.

“He won’t, Alex. He won’t.” 

“But you don’t know that.” Alex said, his anxiety spiralling. Luke clamped a hand on Alex’s shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

“He’s going to be okay. Willie can take care of himself.” Luke said as he shared a look with Willie, who seemed grateful for Luke’s help. “We’ll be there the whole time and you can keep an eye on him, okay Alex?”

Alex took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, lets do this.”

Both Willie and Luke smiled and grabbed Alex’s hands and with that they poofed to The Hollywood Ghost Club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi peeps! So next chapter is going to be gooood! Oooh I can't wait for you guys to finally see it! Ray and Reg- oh no...forget I said that!!😉  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was more of a getting ready for the ones to come. I can't wait to destroy you all in chapter 10...  
> Thank you for reading and for you awesome comments and kudos <3  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3


	9. Tonight...Everything Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie thinks back to the night of the Orpheum in '92  
> Ray comes home with Carlos and hears someone puking

“Eat up boys, cause tonight….everything changes.” Luke said as they all held their street dogs together, as if to cheers. Reggie smiled happily at them, his thoughts racing at a billion miles per hour. 

First off, he was so unbelievably happy they were finally playing the Orpheum! They had been preparing for this for what seemed like an eternity. After the incident with his dad, Reggie would take turns staying at Alex, Luke, and Bobby’s place. He would spend 1 night at his own house, normally to get some clothes and some other essentials. His parents didn’t really ever notice, they probably thought he was just “drifting away” for them like all teenagers did.

Then he would spend 3 days at Luke’s. Then Reggie would spend 1 night at Alex’s because ever since he had come out to his parents, they never really liked having a boy stay in Alex’s room. Then 2 days at Bobby’s, normally the whole band would spend a night there as well and watch Star Wars together in the studio until 2 am.

It was fun, yeah, living with his friends but he wished that he would be able to stay in one place for more than 4 days but everyone thought it was safer for him to not stay more than a night at his parent’s house. But now after Luke ran away, Reggie would stay at Alex’s for 2 or 3 days now and stay with Bobby and Luke the rest of the week.

Second of all, he was nervous because who wouldn’t be?! This was the Orpheum, something the band had been wanted for so long and now it was finally here. Reggie was practically buzzing wit energy during soundcheck and he couldn’t wait for the real deal!

Third, he was actually kinda sad. He hadn’t given the tickets or the note to his parents. It hurt that he never said goodbye to them. Gave them a real one because he basically stopped coming home a few weeks ago. Luke said it was for the best and that it was good that he wasn’t with them but it still hurt. They were his parents, even though they hurt him and fought and screamed at each other, it still hurt. 

But now here Reggie was, sitting on a rugged couch with his 2 brothers. He was eating his favorite food with his favorite people in his favorite place. It was perfect. 

“That’s a new flavor!” Alex said from the opposite side of Luke, mustard on his face. Reggie did notice but he thought it might’ve been because of the weird pickles the dude had offered them.

“Chill, dude. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet!” Reggie said happily before he took another bite of his own street dog. What was the harm? It wasn’t like food could hurt them. 

___________

They finished eating after a while and then started to take a walk around the allies around the Orpheum. They saw the line outside the Orpheum had started to accumulate more people and it just jumpstarted Reggie’s excitement.

Around an hour after they left soundcheck, Reggie had felt a weird pit in his stomach but shrugged it off as nerves. It felt like small dull stabs of pain but then again, nerves could do weird things. Then Alex used his logic to decide it was best for them to head back.

“Guys, we should probably go back now.” Alex said as he glanced at a clock on the other side of the street. Luke bounced in excitement as the showtime got closer.

“Yeah, if we’re late Bobby will literally kill us.” Reggie added with a smile. Luke grabbed both of their shoulders in excitement and smiled widely at no one in particular. Reggie and Alex exchanged amused glances before smiling with Luke.

___________

“We’re playing the Orpheum, boys!” Luke exclaimed for what felt like the thousandth time on their walk back. Reggie smiled but it soon fell into a grimace as the small stabbing pain in his stomach grew substantially. He placed a hand on his stomach.

Alex noticed and looked at him, clearly worried. “You good, Reg?”

Reggie put on his large smile and nodded. Alex and Luke clearly didn’t buy it but before either one of them could say anything, a sharp painful stab of pain shot through Reggie. He doubled over and wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach. He felt hands all over him.

“Oh my god, Reg!” Luke. That was definitely Luke. Reggie opened his mouth to respond when his stomach contents bubbled up and out of his throat and splattered onto the pavement. Reggie squeezed his eyes shut as he puked. Sweat quickly coated his skin as he vomited.

“Reggie? Dude, can you hear me?” Reggie couldn’t respond. Another round of vomiting hit him and he jerked forward as he vomited once again.

“Jesus! What’re we gonna do?” 

“Luke? Dude you okay?”

“I-I think-” Then there was more retching. Reggie could hear Alex freaking out next to him before he too fell victum to the tainted street dogs. 

Reggie’s stomach soon emptied and he dry heaved for a while before he felt a hot and sticky slowly make its way up his throat. A harsh cough came out of Reggie’s body and the liquid came spewing out. He tried to cup it but he only managed to catch some. 

Reggie’s blurred vision managed to see the crimson red splattered along his hands. His already ragged breathing hitched in his throat. His ringing ears slowly tuned back in and he heard Luke and Alex’s panicked words between heaves.

“Reggie!” Luke screeched before he heaved up some bile and he braced himself on his knees.

“Oh my god! Is that blood?” Alex breathed panickied next to him. Reggie looked up from his place on the ground. He never remember getting on the ground. Seeing Alex’s scared eyes, hearing Luke’s dry heaves. It rocked everything back into prospective. He was going to die. He didn’t want to die.

“Don’t wanna die. ‘M scared.” Reggie wheezed out before his body was rocked with another cough and blood spilling past his lips before he vomited up bile mixed with dark crimson blood.

“Guys? Where are you?” A familiar far off voice yelled. All their hopes perked the slightest as they heard their bandmate searching for them.

“Here!” Alex, the strongest of the boys, yelled as loud as he could. Thankfully, it seemed Bobby heard.

“Alex? I’m coming!” Bobby yelled as Luke began dry heaving.

After a few seconds, Bobby came round a corner and spotted the boys, he was already pulling his small foldable cell phone out of his pocket. As he reached them, Alex seemed to have emptied his stomach as well sice he was dry heaving.

“Oh my god.” Bobby murmured as he dialled 9-1-1

“‘M scared. Don’t wanna die.” Reggie whispered. Luke and Alex must’ve heard since he tightened his grip on Reggie’s hand.

_____________

Reggie jolted awake in a feverish state. It surprised him none the less that a ghost could have a fever. As his mind cleared, Reggie took in his surroundings. He was still laying on his back in the bathroom but his head was resting in Julie’s lap.

Suddenly, a familiar sharp pain shot through his stomach. Just like the street dogs, he groaned as he curled up slight. Julie’s hand instinctively went to his hair and she began to card her figures through his hair.

“Sh, you’re going to be alright.” Julie whispered in a hushed voice. Reggie shivered violently on the cool floor.

“‘M cold.” Reggie whispered through his shivers. Julie nodded a few times before moving to get up before freezing in place and looking back at Reggie.

“I can get you one of Alex’s hoodies but are you going to be okay alone?” Julie asked, hesitantly. Reggie gave her a small smile and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay, I swear.” Reggie said and Julie bit her lip before grabbing his flannel and making it into a pillow. She then lifted Reggie’s head and scooted out from underneath it and replaced herself with the flannel.

She planted a kiss on his forehead before she stood up and left to the studio. Reggie laid on the floor as his stomach continued to pules in pain and tried to suppress the overwhelming nausea. 

Reggie knew that Luke wouldn’t just stay put and not do anything. He knew that they had left and were confronting Caleb. It scared Reggie to think about it. He really hoped that they were safe.

Then he felt the familiar tug of his stomach as the vomit quickly jumped from his stomach to his mouth. Reggie shot upward and over the toilet and began to vomit harshly. His vision blurred from the tears that slipped from his eyes.

The pain was so great he didn’t notice the sound of the front door open and Ray’s voice to call out.

________

When Ray got home, his heart dropped into his stomach as he heard the familiar sound of someone vomiting. He had been worried about Julie staying home without anyone when she was sick. 

“Mijo, please go upstairs. I’ll go help Jules.” He had just picked up Carlos of baseball practice and finished a full day of photoshoots. He was tired, yeah but Julie was sick and needed someone to help.

“Ok.” Carlos said, the worry clear in his voice as he looked at Ray and then to the bathroom before scampering upstairs to his room. Ray sighed as he quickly removed his jacket and bag and placed them on the counter gently before running to the bathroom.

He stopped for some odd reason outside the bathroom. Something told him that whatever was behind the door was something that would change his life. Something was in there and he didn’t know what it was going to bring.

Ray took a deep breath before he turned the knob and slowly swung the door open. What he saw shocked him. His eyes grew wide as he took in what was infront of him.

A young pale boy, maybe 16 or 17 was leaned over the toilet. He was sure he had seen this kid a before. His hair was slicked to his forehead with sweat and he looked over at Ray with watery eyes. The kid gave him a small smile before leaning his head on the seat of the toilet.

“Hey, Ray.” Ray was freaked out. How did this kid know his name?

“H-how do you know who I am?” Ray asked stupidly. The kid’s eyes widened as he lifted his head and looked at Ray.

“Y-you can see me?” The kid asked, astonished. 

Ray could only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi peeps! Oop-  
> Yes I really did do it, you read it corrcetly. Your eyes don't deceve you.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading and for all the love you've been giving this and for being engaged. It really means a lot, thank you.  
> Sorry for any mistakes I missed well editing. I was watching the Unus Annus live (only those who were there would understand) last night/this mornig and for me it was at like 1 am so I wasn't very lucid because I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before soooo, sorry for any mistakes.  
> Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all the love you've shown. Thank you <3
> 
> Thank you for reading  
> Stay safe and healthy   
> Love you all <3  
> Memento Mori,  
> Unus Annus  
> -Emma


	10. See You Later, Hot Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willie confronts Caleb, Alex and Willie say goodbye, Luke and Alex get into a fight

Luke, Alex, and Willie poofed into a small space behind the stairs in the Hollywood Ghost Club. The 3 ghosts squished together as they peeked around the edge of the stairs. Alex felt Luke tense up next to him as they saw him.

Caleb, dressed in a purple silk robe stood on stage directing the many dancers around the floor. His hair slightly more tousled than the previous times Alex had seen Caleb. He was guiding the twins that Luke and Reggie had danced with around the stage to their places. Caleb looked incredibly at home and natural standing onstage that if he hadn’t cursed the boys before, they would've loved to see him perform.

“Alright, I’m going to talk to him.” Willie said as they scooted back out of sight. His expression was one of anxiety but he was clearly determined to do this. Alex knew there was no talking Willie out of it. “You guys should be able to hear us.”

Luke nodded with a determined expression but Alex gently grabbed Willie’s arm, causing the skater to turn and look at Alex. They shared a silent conversation, the looks in each other’s eyes telling everything.

“I’ll be fine, Hot Dog.” Willie said with a cocky smile. Alex returned it with an anxious grin before letting go of Willie’s arm. Willie looked between Luke and Alex. “Stay here.” Then he quickly went off to talk to Caleb.

___________

Willie slowly walked up to the stage, wringing his hands as he went. He spared a quick glance back at where he had left Alex and Luke before looking back at Caleb, who was still directing some of the dancers to the correct spots.

He stopped at the edge of the stage and waited, seeing if Caleb would notice. He didn’t seem to so Willie cleared his throat as he continued to wring his hands anxiously.

“Uh, Caleb?” Willie said, loud enough so Caleb could hear. Caleb looked over at Willie, his hands together in their normal showman like manor. 

“Well, hello William. What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today?” Caleb asked as he glanced down as one of the club’s workers handed him the setlist for that night’s performance. Willie bit the inside of his lip in an attempt to calm his anxiety. Caleb lifted his eyebrows and looked at Willie before looking back at the paper. “I do have a schedule, William.”

“Yeah, sorry. I-I um, did you give the Second Death to Reggie?” Willie asked bluntly, he immediately regretted it. Caleb didn’t glance up from the sheet as he sighed.

“Willie, I thought I told you to stay away from those boys unless you’re checking on them for me.” Caleb said as he made a quick note on his paper and returned it to the worker and walked over to Willie and getting off the stage to stand in front of Willie.

“I-I-I’m really sorry, Caleb.” Willie said, his eyes watering. He was scared that if something were to happen that Alex would come out. That Alex would get himself hurt. 

“There really is no need for apologies, William.” Caleb said with a smile. Willie’s brows laced together because Caleb would never let this go so quickly but he gave a slow nod back.

“Alright,” Willie said hesitantly, as he looked Caleb up and down quickly. Then everything happened incredibly fast, almost so Willie couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Caleb grabbed onto Willie’s wrist and pulled him toward Caleb. Caleb’s eyes glanced towards the stairs and Willie knew that Caleb knew Alex and Luke were there. Then Willie felt the burn on his wrist of the club stamp being burned into his ghostly form. 

“I really expected better of you, William.” Caleb whispered as the burning ceased and the stamp was soaked into Willie’s form. Then he heard the familiar voice of Alex ring through the club’s suddenly empty room.

“Willie!”

_________

Luke’s heart dropped to his stomach as he felt Alex’s familiar presence disappear from its place next to him. Alex ran out from their hiding spot when Caleb stamped Willie. Luke could hear the pain in Alex’s voice as he ran towards his boyfriend. Luke following quickly.

“Willie!” Alex yelled again as he reached Willie, who had jerked away from Caleb. Alex quickly wrapped Willie in a hug. Luke put a hand on Alex’s back before he positioned himself in between Caleb and Willie and Alex.

Luke made it his priority to protect Willie and Alex from Caleb. Luke could hear Alex and Willie having a hushed conversation behind him. Everything just felt like it was in a rush. Luke locked eyes with Caleb in a glare.

“Why the hell would you do that? You’ve taken everything from us!” Luke yelled at Caleb. His anger was pulling at his sanity. Caleb had hurt not only Willie but Alex, and he was making Reggie go through the pain of the street dogs all over again.

“I had to teach Willie a lesson.” Caleb said and as if on cue Willie jolted, Alex held him tightly as Willie coughed. Luke clenched his fists as he heard the hushed whispers Alex was saying.

“What about Reggie? How could you hurt the sweetest, most caring person?” Luke was really using all his strength not to punch Caleb. Then Caleb reached out, as if to take Luke’s hand in a shake, but Luke yanked his hand away. 

“There is only one way for you to help Reggie. I don’t want to hurt any of you, but-” Caleb started but Luke’s anger skyrocketed.

“Hurt us? You’ve already hurt us! Just back off!” Luke said before he turned around and grabbed onto Alex and Willie’s wrists and poofed them all out in his bout of impulsion. As they left he heard Caleb’s final words to him.

“If you want Reggie to stay around, bring him here.”

___________

Luke, Alex, and Willie poofed into an alleyway on Hollywood boulevard. Luke’s anger had blinded him and it was stupid of him to leave, but he had to get them out of there. He didn’t notice he had begun to pace along the ally.

“Guys, what’re we going to do?” Luke asked, openly. Alex scoffed but before he could answer Willie spoke up.

“You guys need to go back to Reggie, figure everything out.” Willie said. Alex turned and looked at him in confusion. Luke stopped pacing.

“What’d you mean, us? You’re coming too.” Alex said. Luke’s heart fell into his stomach as he caught what Willie was saying. Willie’s face was scratched up as he endured the pain of telling Alex what he never wanted to.

“I’m sorry, Alex but I-I can’t. You can’t see me go through this, I’ve gotta go.” Willie said, tears slipping from his eyes. Alex grabbed Willie’s hand as their tears fell together. 

“No Willie. You-you can’t-” Alex cut himself off from finishing. Luke felt like he was intruding on this incredibly intimate moment between one of his best friends and his boyfriend say goodbye. Willie gave Alex a small smile.

“It’ll be okay, maybe I’ll find my unfinished business before I fade,” Willie said to Alex. “You’ve gotta help Reggie, figure out your next move. Caleb will do anything to get you guys to join the club. Don’t make deals with him.” He looked at Luke as he said that, knowing that he would do anything to protect his bandmates. “You guys can do it, I believe in you.”

The knot in Luke’s throat tightened so he could only nod at Willie’s words. Alex kept his chin glued to his chest as he silently cried. Willie looked back at Alex. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Promise me, you won’t stop trying to find out what your unfinished business is. Please.” Alex whispered around the lump in his throat. Willie gave him a small sad smile.

“I promise. Every time I’m with you Alex, I feel alive again. You make me feel alive. I can’t thank you for everything you’ve done.” Willie said before yanking Alex into a tight hug, his eyes squeezed closed. Then he opened his eyes and locked eyes with Luke, who had tears slipping from his eyes.

Willie’s eyes said everything. ‘Take care of Alex for me.’

Luke nodded and Willie gave him an appreciative smile before pulling away from Alex.

“I’ll see you later, Hot Dog.” Willie said with a smile before he poofed out. Away from Alex. Forever.

Suddenly he felt a fist connect with his jaw. It was so surprising, Luke spun and staggered against the wall. His hand instinctively went to where he was punched as he turned around and saw Alex, his hand clenched into a fist.

“What the hell, dude!” Luke yelled. The fact that Alex had hit him was surprising. He had never been hit by any of his bandmates but he couldn’t blame Alex. The rage and pain burning in his eyes were so bright, the hit must’ve taken some of it out.

“It was your idea for Willie to talk to Caleb! If you hadn’t suggested it, he never would’ve gotten stamp!” Alex yelled back at Luke. Tears were streaming down Alex’s cheeks as he shook in front of Luke. “It’s your fault!”

“Alex….” Luke breathed out but Alex’s head jerked up so he was staring into Luke’s eyes. There was an almost feral look in Alex’s eyes that Luke had never seen before.

“What?” Alex snapped. “What’ve you got, Luke? I’ve lost everyone, I actually thought Willie was going to be there with you guys but no. You’ve gone and screwed it up. Thanks, Luke.”

Luke took a step forward and lightly touched Alex’s shoulder but Alex slapped his hand away. 

“Luke, stop! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! You took Willie from me! You ruined the only good thing in my life! Afterlife whatever! He’s gone and it’s all. Your. Fault!” Alex screamed at Luke before he slipped to his knees as a sob broke from his throat.

Luke bit his lip as fat tears fell from his eyes, and they wouldn’t be stopping for a while. Alex blamed him for what happened to Willie. Alex hated him. He hated him. 

‘No, Luke. He’s just not with it….right?’ Luke thought in his brain before Alex’s broken voice slipped into his ears.

“He’s gone. He’s gone. I never told him I love him.” Alex sobbed out. Luke slipped to the floor next to him, Luke’s own sobs trying to break out of his throat but he pushed it down. Alex needed someone right now.

Luke hesitantly put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. At the touch, Alex collapsed into Luke’s chest and wailed. Luke wrapped his arms around Alex’s shuttering form. The heart-wrenching sobs broke through the silence of the ally. The sobs broke Luke as he held Alex close to him, helping his friend mourn the loss of the person who he really loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Runs and hides under my bed* I'm sorry, okay! Don't kill me! 
> 
> Um. Yeah, sorry Willex fans. This may or may not be the last time we hear of or see Willie... heehee  
> Thank you for reading! Sorry if I hurt you in this chapter. We will be seeing Ray and Reggie soon, don't worry! Sorry for that 'I hate you' part, that might've hurt a bit but Alex was in PAIN! He was being impulsive, poor Luke tho. Anyway, I think I will be posting on Saturdays regularly now! So at least we have a schedule! I might give you guys another chapter on my birthday, as a birthday gift from me to you! lol! Love you guys and for all the love you've given this story and for how supportive you've all been! It means so much to me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> See you next Saturday  
> Memento Mori  
> -Emma


	11. Who Is In the Bathroom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has a lot of questions for Julie  
> Back in '95 when Alex came out to Reggie  
> Everyone tries to help Reggie and make him feel comfortable

After Julie rifled through Alex’s bag, looking for a hoodie for Reggie, she found one of his spare pink hoodie’s squished to the bottom of the bag. It took her a minute to render the smell. It wasn’t bad by any means, if anything it smelled homey and clean. It smelled like Alex. It shocked Julie that she could smell Alex from the hoodie.

Before Julie could really freak out, she saw her phone light up with a text from Flynn.

“Girl, where were you today?” Julie quickly grabbed her phone and responded.

“Reggie's sick and I needed to be here.”

“What do you mean Reggie's sick? How’s that possible?”

“Come over, I’ll tell you everything.” Julie responded but before she could put her phone away, a text from her dad popped up.

“Jules, I need to talk to you now.” Ray’s text said. It set Julie’s nerves on edge whenever her dad said something like that but she rolled up Alex’s hoodie and jogged towards the house.

__________

Ray’s head was spinning as he shoved his phone into his pocket. The kid, Reggie was sitting on the bathroom floor staring at Ray. He looked just as shook up as Ray felt. They made eye contact again and Reggie’s eyes widened.

“Y-you can still see me?” Reggie asked, the shock clear in his voice. Ray nodded.

“Yes, I still can. Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Ray asked but before Reggie could respond the door closes and Julie came running in.

“Dad? Where are you?” Julie’s voice rang out in the house. 

“I need to talk to Julie. We’ll be back soon.” Ray said, trying to be as calm as he could be. Reggie nodded and laid his head on the edge of the toilet and curled up. Ray quickly left the bathroom and met Julie in the dining room.

“Mija, who is in the bathroom? And why is he here?” Ray asked, keeping a demanding tone to his voice for Julie. Julie’s jaw dropped as her eyes travel between Ray and the hall he had just walked through.

“You….you can see Reggie?” Julie asked, her eyes wide. Ray’s eyebrows furrowed as Julie asked the same question Reggie had moments ago.

“Yes, Jules. Is he someone from school? Is he in some sort of trouble?” Ray hushed his voice to a serious tone as he interrogated Julie. Julie shook her head.

“No, no. He’s….” Julie trailed off, thinking of the best way to tell Ray whatever was going on. 

“You can tell me, Jules.” Ray said. Julie took a deep breath.

“You’ve got to promise not to freak out, okay?” Julie asked and Ray smiled and nodded.

“Of course, Mija. Just tell me.” 

And Julie did.

___________

Reggie’s parents were working late so he was home alone again. They had told him that they were “working” but he really knew they were getting drunk to put up some tolerance for each other. 

Luke was on a good note with his parents. It was one of those things that you could just tell were happening. When Luke was having a good couple of days, he always was a bit more bubbly. He would smile a lot more and he would just be more energized.

Alex….to be honest. Reggie didn’t really know what Alex was doing. He knew that he and his family were having a family dinner but he really didn’t know what else. Maybe he would call later and they could go for a late-night walk on the beach.

Reggie had ordered some pizza from a small restaurant that was down the street. He got a small cheese pizza with some of the money he had leftover from his share of their tips from a gig a few days ago. The band had been meaning to try the new deep dish pizza place that had recently opened.

So now Reggie sat in the living room, staring at the wall as he tried to think of something to do. He could try writing a new country song with his newly (and secretly) bought banjo. Reggie had been psyched to get it from the music store down the street. He knew the guy who ran it, and he happened to be a fan of Sunset Curve, and when Reggie asked to look at banjos, he had just given him one!

He could play his bass but if his parents came home drunk, they wouldn’t want to be hearing that. Then there was taking a walk on the beach. It always helped Reggie calm down and tonight was one of the cooler nights in LA so he might as well take advantage of the good conditions.

Reggie got up when up to his room to grab his leather jacket, which he had shed earlier that day. He began to pull on the jacket when there was a knock on the door. Reggie quickly yanked the jacket on the rest of the way before spriting back down the stairs.

As he arrived at the door, he gave a little jump to see who was standing there before he opened it. Who he saw shooked him. Why was he here? He should have been at his house but none the less Reggie unlocked the door and swung it open.

In front of him, stood Alex, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. It scared Reggie to see Alex like this, he knew Alex was the most emotional of the band but Reggie could tell something was really wrong. Alex’s watery eyes locked with Reggie’s and he let out a strangled wet sob.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” Alex sobbed out before Reggie pulled Alex into a tight hug. Alex clung tightly to Reggie as he cried and they just stood in the doorway. 

Once Alex’s sobs died down, he pulled away and wiped his eyes. Reggie kept one had latched onto Alex’s forearm for comfort. Reggie offered a small smile and Alex gave a smile before Reggie lead Alex into the living room and sat him down.

“Do you need some water or-” Reggie started but Alex suddenly blurted something out.

“I’m gay.” Reggie looked at him. Alex’s shoulders curled inward before he repeated it. “I’m gay.”

Reggie shrugged. “Okay.” Alex’s eyebrows scrunched together.

“What? Aren’t you mad?” Alex asked, sounding terrified. Reggie shook his head.

“No, you’re who you are. It doesn’t change you at all. I get it dude and I don’t love you any less than I did before.” Reggie said before Alex launched himself into Reggie, knocking them both to the ground. 

“I told my parents and they….they said when I change my mind they’ll be ready.” Alex whispered into Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie let his own tears fall knowing that such a sweetest person like Alex would have to go through that.

“You totally stay here for as long as you need.” Reggie said as Alex pulled away from their intertwined hug.

“Thank you, Reg.” Alex said as he wiped his eyes.

“Of course dude.”

_____________

After Ray came out of his stupor of hearing what had been going on from Julie, they walked back to the bathroom. Reggie had fallen asleep against the toilet, he was paler than the last time Ray had seen him. The sweat was accumulating on the edge of the toilet seat and his breathing was breathy and laced with pants of pain.

Ray’s parental instincts skyrocketed seeing Reggie in that amount of pain. Julie nudged Ray towards Reggie and they sat down next to him together. Before Ray could try to rub Reggie’s back, his eyes snapped open and he gagged and leaned over the toilet bowl and vomited.

Ray immediately tried to put his hand on Reggie’s back but his hand only fazed through. His heart broke as he sat idly by well he watched Julie move forward and rub Reggie’s back and brush his sweaty bangs from his eyes.

“You’re going to be alright, Reggie. You’ve got to get it out.” Ray said, using his most comforting voice as he sat near Reggie.

After a few long, agonizing moments of Reggie vomiting, he stopped and collapsed back against Julie, exhausted. It took everything in Ray’s power not to jump towards Reggie and hug him tightly. Julie was quietly murmuring words to him, as Reggie’s eyes fluttered. He groaned and shoved his hands against his stomach. Ray shot a concerned look at Julie, who gave him an equally terrified look. 

The door opened and someone walked through the door.

“Julie? Girl, you’ve gotta fill me in!” Flynn’s voice rang out and both Julie and Ray let out sighs of relief.

“We’re in here!” Julie yelled back and Flynn began coming towards the bathroom. 

“Oh my god, Jules. I need to-” Flynn cut herself off as she appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped.

“Reggie?”

________________

Before any of them could react Reggie shot towards the toilet once again to vomit. He let out a heart-wrenching sob as his stomach revolted again. Reggie just gagged and held it in. Ray and Julie were quick to help. Julie rubbed his back and Ray talked to him.

“Hey bud, you’ve got to let it all out.” Reggie shook his head as he jerked again as his body tried to get rid of the purple vomit. “Yes, Mijo. You’ve got to.”

“Dad? What’s going on?” Carlos’ young voice broke through as he peaked his head around the doorway. Ray broke his eyes from Reggie to look at his youngest son.

“Mijo, I need to help Reggie now.” Ray said, and Carlos looked at the group with tearful eyes before nodding. Flynn patted Carlos on the back and nodded towards the living room and the 2 left.

Ray quickly turned his attention back to Reggie, who finally let himself vomit. Julie rubbed his back in gently but firm circles on Reggie’s sweaty back. It hurt Ray to not be able to help Reggie. To have to watch a kid go through this.

“You’re going to be okay, Reggie,” Julie whispered as Reggie’s heaving slowed to a stop. He let out a pained groan and wrapped his arms around his stomach and touched his forehead to the toilet seat.

“Like the street dogs.” Reggie gritted out in a broken voice laced with pain. Julie’s eyes saddened at Reggie’s words and she sighed. 

“I’m so sorry, Reg but Luke and Alex are going to be back soon and know how to fix everything,” Julie said and Rey lightly grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. Julie gave him a small smile before a sudden gust of wind and a ‘poof’ noise came from behind and 2 figures stood behind Ray.

2 teenaged boys were behind him and Ray recognized them as Julie’s other bandmates.  
Luke and Alex.

Alex was hugging himself tightly and his eyes were red and puffy. His cheeks wet with a few stray tears. Luke had a hand resting on Alex’s back and he looked equally distressed. Both the boy’s eyes widened as Ray gave them both a smile.

“Jules….” Luke said wearily as his wide eyes traveled from Ray to Julie, who only gave them a shrug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, peeps!  
> Thank you so much for reading! I finished this chapter a bit early (because I'm on Thanksgiving break) so I just decided to give it to you guys early. There might be another update on Tuesday, but it depends on whether I actually finish it or not. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, poor Reg! Ray's here and ready to help! Let's kick Caleb's ghost ass!  
> I know the 'Alex coming out' doesn't really fit into this chapter's flow but I just wrote it on Monday as a one-shot but then I just fell in love with the idea of it going into the story and I couldn't wait to add it in, so I just threw it in! Sorry, not sorry. I need my soft boys :)
> 
> Anyways I hope you all are doing well and thank you all so so much for commenting, it means so much to me and my wittle heart just explodes every time I see someone commented!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy  
> Love you all <3  
> Memento Mori  
> -Emma


	12. You’re My Moon, Stars, Earth, and Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Fantoms! So TW, death is involved in case you couldn't tell and there are some Spanish phrases and words. I used Google Translate so if any of it is wrong, I'm sorry and please let me know! But here are the translations for some of them.  
> Mi querida- my darling  
> Mi pequeño angel- my little angel  
> Te quiero, mamá - I love you, mom  
> Querida - Darling  
> Mi amor - my love  
> Eres mi luna, Estrellas, Tierra y sol - You’re my moon, stars, earth, and sun
> 
> Anyways, if you want a full experience for this, I have a Spotify playlist for this chapter.  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/25lT1nFjRbSv85OQf2QgVF?si=GfTW-JqETveAQf2TTWv_Og
> 
> I hope you enjoy this! Happy reading!

It was 2 am, December 17 when Ray got off the phone, his heart shooting into his stomach. The hospital had just called to tell him that Rose was most likely not going to make it through the rest of the night. Ray tried to quell his shaking hands and took a few long deep breaths, tears began to collect in his eyes.

Rose had been battling stage 4 breast cancer for 6 months, it had spread to her liver and many of her lymph nodes. She had gotten extremely sick a week ago and they were forced to admit her to the hospital. They were hoping that Rose would’ve been able to be home with them for Christmas.

Now Ray was standing in the kitchen, knowing he was going to lose his Rosa that day. Suddenly his mind snapped into reality, he had to get the kids and call Victoria, see if she could take Julie and Carlos after they see Rose. He didn’t want them to have to see her go through it.

Ray shakily pulled Victoria’s contact up and dialed her number. She answered on the first ring.

“Ray, I got the call as well.” Victoria said, the sadness weighing her normal happy, expressive tone down. Ray let out a sigh as his own tears began to fall down his cheeks.

“I need you to take the kids after they-they say….” He couldn’t bring himself to say the final word but luckily Victoria knew. 

“Of course, Ray. I’ll meet you there. Be safe.” Victoria said through the phone. Ray nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“I’ll see you soon.” Ray said numbly before hanging up. He put his phone down on the counter and ran his hands over his face and sighed.

They all had known this was coming but they hoped for some more time. Ray couldn’t dwell on it, his Rosa needed him and the kids would need him more than ever. Ray quickly shoved his phone into his pocket and quietly went up the stairs.

He went into his and Rose’s room, threw on a clean shirt and some comfortable joggers and grabbed a jacket. Ray went across the hall and slowly opened Julie’s door and entered quietly. She had her head buried into her pillow, her hair splayed around her head. Ray smiled sadly as he sat down on the edge of her bed and lightly grabbed her shoulder. Julie blinked her eyes open blurrily and looked at Ray, who offered a small sad smile.

“Hey, Mija. We’ve gotta go to the hospital to see mom.” Ray whispered, loud enough for Julie to hear but quiet enough to be gentle. Julie’s eyes immediately widened and they filled with tears, knowing what it meant. Ray tightly squeezed Julie’s hand comfortingly before he got up and kissed her forehead. “We’ll be okay, Jules.” Julie bit her lip and nodded before she sat up and began getting ready to leave quickly, grabbing any clothes to throw on. 

Ray stood in the doorway for a moment before he went back into the hallway and went to Carlos’ door and opened it. Carlos was starfished out on his bed, one of his pajama leg’s rolled up to his knee well the other was in its normal position. 

He went over to the edge of Carlos’ bed and lightly shook his shoulder. “Mijo, we've got to get ready to go. We have to go see mom.” Ray repeated the same words he had told Julie once Carlos blinked his eyes open. 

“Is mom okay?” His small childish voice asked innocently. Ray’s heart broke but he held in everything for Carlos’ sake.

“It’s not looking good, Mijo but we’re going to be there with her.” Ray said as gently as he could. Carlos’ face fell but he nodded as he clenched his jaw tightly as tears flooded his eyes. Ray gave him a proud smile, both Julie and Carlos were being so strong.

“Come downstairs when you’re ready, mijo. We’ll leave once you guys are ready.” Ray said before he stood up and gave Carlos’ hand a tight squeeze before he left the room to give him some privacy to get changed.

Julie was walking out of her room as Ray walked out of Carlos’, her eyes red and watery but she kept her head tilted downwards as she walked. Ray rubbed her back when they met in front of the stairs. Julie tightly grabbed his hand as they descended down the stairs.

They sat down on the couch, Julie fidgeting with the edge of her shirt as tears slipped down her cheeks. Ray rubbed her back soothingly as he held in his own tears. After a few minutes, Carlos slowly came down the stairs. Both Ray and Julie stood, the family linked hands, and went to the car.  
_________________

They silently arrived at the hospital and got out of the car, the gloom overhanging the early morning. Ray wrapped his arms around both Julie and Carlos as they entered the section of the hospital Rose was in. Victoria was already in the waiting room when they walked through the doors.

She was quick to envelop both Julie and Carlos, whispering greetings into their ears. Ray gave her a sad smile from his place behind his children. Once Victoria pulled away from Julie and Carlos, she immediately went to Ray and hugged him tightly.

“How’re you, Ray?” Victoria whispered into his ear, the sadness audible in her voice. Ray hugged her back tightly.

“As well as I can be.” Was all he responded with, the sadness welling inside his heart. He caught sight of Julie, her head bowed, holding Carlos’ hand tightly. “How is Rosa?” 

Victoria sighed. “I already spoke with her, she just wants to be with you all.” She left out the obvious words. ‘We said goodbye already’

They pulled away and Ray squeezed Victoria’s hand in comfort. She smiled. “Go see her.”

Ray nodded before he went over to Julie and Carlos, who were hugging each other. “You ready to go see mom?” 

Julie closed her eyes and nodded. Carlos buried his head in Julie’s shirt, hiding his tears. Ray grabbed both of their shoulders and they walked to Rose’s room. Julie and Carlos stayed pressed into Ray’s side.

___________________

Ray slowly opened the door to Rose’s room and the heartache exploded inside him. His entire being throbbed seeing his Rosa in such pain. Her hair had been gone for months, her face had swelled up and her eyes held so much pain. Yet she still smiled at them. Her eyes lit up with life through all the pain.

She was the same old Rosa.

“Hey, Mr. Molina.” Rose said, her tone sarcastic with her scratchy voice, laced with pain. Her voice was breathier and quieter than it normally was but it was still her. Ray and Carlos immediately appeared at her side. They smiled at her, and she smiled at Carlos and took his hand. Julie stayed glued to the doorway.

“Hey, mom.” Carlos said, his voice quiet and serious as he lightly stroked Rose’s hand. Rose squeezed both of their hands before she looked at Julie.

“Mija, please come,” Rose said gently to Julie, who shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Rose looked at Carlos and Ray. “I need to talk to Julie for a moment alone.”

“We will be right outside, Rosa.” Ray said and nodded and took Carlos’ shoulder and guided him out of the room, leaving Julie and Rose together alone. Rose’s chocolate eyes met Julie’s dark eyes and Julie’s tears came faster as she walked towards Rose and laid next to her, being careful of all the wires and tubes as she rested her head on Rose’s shoulder.

“I love you, mom.” Julie sobbed into Rose’s shoulder. Rose brought her hand up to Julie’s cheeks and brushed it lightly.

“I love you more, mi pequeño angel.” Rose whispered into Julie’s hair as she tucked her hair behind her ear and planted a kiss on her forehead. Julie curled up closer to Rose’s body as she sobbed.

“I’m sorry that you have to go through this, mom.” Julie cried as she lightly intertwined her and Rose’s figures together. Rose kissed Julie’s forehead again.

“If it’s my time, it’s my time Mija.” Rose said as she tightened her and Julie’s intertwined figures together. Julie rested her cheek against Rose’s shoulder as she cried. 

“I love you so so much mom.” Julie sobbed out, Rose smiled with tears in her eyes.

“Be strong, even when I’m gone I’ll still be with you,” Rose said as she brought her and Julie’s conjoined hands to her chest, where her slow but still-beating heart was. “Here. I will always be here, Mija. You are so strong and beautiful, mi querida. I love you, forever and always.” Rose rested her cheek against the top of Julie’s head and gently played with her hair.

After a long while, Rose’s voice broke through the quiet of the room. “Mija, I need to talk to Carlos and Papi. We can talk again soon.” Rose said gently, still playing with Julie’s hair. Julie slowly pushed herself up and nodded.

“Te quiero, mamá.” Julie whispered before she kissed Rose’s forehead. Rose smiled

“Te quiero, Mija.” Rose returned before Julie got off the bed and went to the door. Giving Rose one more look before she slipped out of the room to get Carlos.

________________

Once Carlos came out of Rose’s room, red-eyed and sniffling, Ray decided the kids should go home with Victoria. Victoria must’ve had the same thought as she shared a look with him. Ray grabbed both of their hands and squeezed them tightly.

“You both should go home with Tia.” Ray said his heart breaking, knowing that that was the final time they would most likely see Rose. Carlos looked exhausted and so did Julie but neither of them wanted to leave.

“Dad, I don’t want to leave.” Carlos said, his tears falling down his cheeks. Ray pulled Carlos into a tight hug as he fought to keep his own tears in.

“Mijo, it’ll be alright. You need sleep and you can call us whenever you want.” Ray said as Carlos pulled away from the embrace. He wiped his eyes and sighed before nodding. 

“I’m staying here.” Julie said stubbornly. Ray sighed, he knew it would be hard convincing Julie to leave. Ray was tired and wanted to be with his wife for her last few hours so he just nodded towards an empty space for him and Julie to talk. They both walked over to it and stood there.

“Mija, please go. Carlos will need you and mamá wouldn’t want you to see her go through this. Please, Jules, you’re tired and need sleep. You and Carlos can call whenever you want.” Ray said, trying his best to get Julie to leave with Carlos and Victoria. Julie sighed as tears fell past her eyes and she nodded.

“Okay, Papi.” Julie whispered before Ray pulled her close, closing his eyes as he hugged her.

“I love you so much, Mija. You are so strong.” Ray whispered to Julie.

“Tell Mom, I love her.” Julie said into Ray’s chest. Ray didn’t dare let himself cry, in fear he may never stop.

“I will, Mija.” Ray said as they hugged each other.

_________________

Once Carlos, Julie, and Victoria were on their way home from the hospital, Ray finally let himself breathe as he walked back into the hospital. The door slid open as he walked into the ward Rose was in, the secretary smiled at him sympathetically as he walked back to Rose’s room.

He slowly opened the door and slid into the room. Rose turned her head to look at him and she smiled but it was smaller and weaker than the first. She was paler than before and she looked even more exhausted. Ray managed to return the smile.

“Hey, Rosa.” Ray said as he took a seat beside her bed. She smiled at him as she reached her hand out to take. Ray gently took her hand and kissed the top of it before they tightly locked hands.

“You know I love you right, Querida?” Ray asked as he traced the back of her hand with his figures. Rose’s smile grew lovingly.

“Of course, I love you more than life itself,” Rose said, her voice calm and loving. Ray leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“I love you so much, Rosa.” Ray said as he rested his forehead gently on her forehead. Rose lifted her hand and brushed it against his cheek gently. 

“Eres mi luna, estrellas, tierra y sol.” Rose whispered to Ray, as tears began to track down his face. She lightly patted his cheek with her loving smile. “You are so strong, mi amor.”

“Am I? How can I live without you, mi amor?” Suddenly a sob broke from his throat as tears came trailing down his cheeks. Rose smiled at him, her eyes showing how much she loved him.

“You are the best man I’ve ever known. Live for me and love them for me.” Rose said as she cupped his cheek gently. Ray shook his head as more tears came barrelling down his cheeks. “I’ll always be with you.” Rose brought their joined hands towards her chest, right over her slowing heart, as she did for Julie.

“I will carry your love and memory forever, querida.” Ray said as he tightly squeezed Rose’s hand before he lifted it and kissed it gently. Rose scooted over as much as she could to make room for Ray. Ray moved onto the bed and Rose rested her head on Ray’s shoulder.

___________

Ray fell asleep for an hour before Rose’s heart monitor began to slow. Ray’s eyes snapped open and he lifted his head to look at Rose. Her eyes were half-lidded as she weakly squeezed Ray’s hand.

“Don’t worry Rosa, I’m here.” Ray said, keeping their hands interlocked as he pressed the call button. Once he did, he sat down next to Rose again. “We all love you. Me, Carlos, Julie, Victoria, all of us. Stay with me, mi Rosa.”

“Take care of Julie and Carlos for me. And take care of yourself. You deserve to be happy. I am in the stars now, look up, and see me sparkle. Te quiero, mi amor.” Rose said as a team of doctors came running in asking questions, grabbing equipment, and reading monitors. Rose never let go of Ray’s hand.

After a few long, agonizing seconds Rose’s eyes slipped closed and her heart monitor let out one long tortuous beep. Her hand lost its grip on Ray’s, but he held on tightly for his wife. Hoping she would come back to them. 

“Flatlining!” One nurse yelled as the doctors began running around. Ray’s mind went numb as he caught a glimpse of Rose’s unmoving form. A tube trying to force air into her lungs, her beautiful face lax, her chocolate brown eyes closed.

“I love you and I will see you soon, mi amor. I love you more than me. Enjoy being with the angels.” Ray whispered, closing his eyes and finally letting down the barrier. His tears and sobs ripping from his throat as he tightly held his wife’s cool hand. He planted a kiss on her hand as the doctors and nurses bustled around trying to save Rose.

After a few more long torturous moments, the crowd of medical personnel stopped as the beep rang out. Ray kept his eyes closed as they silently began shutting off machinery. Ray numbly listened to the nurses talking to him.

Liver failure. 

Build-up of toxins.

Time of Death- December 17, 2019, 4:27 AM 

“Rosanna Molina,  
Eres mi luna, estrellas, tierra y sol. Miraré las estrellas y te veré, mi amor. Te quiero, te amo mi querida angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Final Line translates to:  
> You are my moon, stars, earth, and sun. I will look at the stars and see you, my love. I love you, my darling angel.
> 
> I wonder what other characters died on December 17...?🤔 
> 
> Alright, today's the day I popped out of my mom singing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' hitting the high note of Galileo so my birthday gift to you all is this special diddy I cooked up. I'm sorry and I hope you liked it. I made myself cry writing this, which is a first for me!! So anyway, I hope I made you feel in some way. I loved experimenting with Ray and Rose's relationship and I hope you liked how it turned out!
> 
> Anyways, thank you once again for reading and for all your amazing comments you've been leaving. They are always so sweet and fun to read!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> I'll see you on Saturday!  
> Memento Mori  
> -Emma


	13. I Really Really Love You Guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Luke talk  
> The crew comes up with a game plan

Luke was already so close to breaking. Reggie was going to fade if they didn’t bring him to Caleb, Alex freaking hated him and blamed him for what happened to Willie, and now Ray could see them. It was almost too much but the sudden realization that Ray was helping Reggie just by being there lifted a weight from him.

Alex lightly shouldered past him and made his way towards Reggie and plopped down behind him. Luke tried to quell his shaking hands as he caught Alex’s hurt eyes. Julie’s eyebrows smushed together as she felt the tension between the two boys. Luke just shook his head.

“So since when can Ray see us?” Luke asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, trying not to sound on the verge of tears as Alex turned his head away from Luke.

“We don’t know.” Julie answered simply as her eyes traveled between Luke and Alex. Alex sighed loudly as he rubbed Reggie’s back.

“That isn’t important, Luke” Alex’s voice took a hostile tone at Luke’s name. He turned his attention to Julie and Ray. “We have 2 options. We join Caleb’s band and Reggie’s saved or Reggie fades and we lose him.”

Julie’s face paled and Ray pulled his lips into a thin line. Reggie turned around and leaned his back against the toilet. “We’re not going back there.” His voice wavered as he spoke but he kept a determined face.

Alex’s face softened but Luke took the opportunity to speak. “We don’t really have any other choice bud. We can’t lose you too.” Luke’s concerned eyes flickered to Alex, who was staring at him.

“Luke, just because you are the one who destroyed one of the only good things in my afterlife, doesn’t mean-” Alex snapped at Luke until Julie interrupted them when tears spill past Luke’s eyes.

“Alex! What was that for?” Julie said loudly. They settled into a cold silence and tension before Luke stood up and backed away from the group, wiping his eyes as he went.

“I’ll be in the studio.” Luke barely managed to choke out before he poofed out. 

Julie looked at Alex as she too stood up, grabbing Alex’s arm and dragging him onto his feet. She looked at Ray and quickly said, “I’ll be back” before she dragged Alex out of the bathroom.

They stopped in the hallway and Julie crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at Alex with anger flaring in her eyes. 

“What was that about?” Julie asked, harshly. Alex left out a sad sigh as his face fell into a sad expression.

“W-when we went to talk to Caleb before we did Luke….said that Willie should talk to him,” Alex said softly, the hurt in his voice prominent. The anger in Julie’s eyes quickly flickered out as she listened to Alex. “Then….then Caleb….he gave Willie the stamp.”

Tears streamed out of Alex’s eyes, as they flooded Julie’s eyes. Alex choked on a suppressed sob. “I’m such a jerk, I blamed it all on Luke when Willie was going to anyways. I hurt Luke when he was already hurting.” Julie pulled Alex into a tight hug. Despite the height difference, Alex cried into Julie’s hair. 

They stayed wrapped up together for a while before they heard vomiting from the bathroom. Alex pulled away and wiped his red eyes. “I should go talk to Luke.” Julie nodded and gave him another quick hug before she went into the bathroom to help Reggie.

Alex took a deep shaky breath before he poofed into the studio.

______________

Alex poofed into the studio and immediately heard Luke’s strangled sobs. Alex quickly saw Luke. He was curled up on the floor, his back resting against the edge of one of the armchairs. His forehead resting against his knees as his shoulders shuttered with sobs.

Alex slowly walked over and slide down next to Luke. Alex’s sudden presence made Luke’s head look at him, his eyes were bloodshot and red. Just looking at Alex made Luke break into a new round of hysterical sobs.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Alex. I’m sorry.” Luke cried until Alex pulled Luke into a tight hug, hiding his own tears.

“It’s not your fault, Luke. I wasn’t thinking when I said those things. I’m sorry.” Alex whispered to Luke, who just shook his head and kept sobbing. Alex pulled away from Luke and grabbed his shoulders tightly, causing Luke to look at him. “It wasn’t your fault, Luke. You’re one of my best friends and I love you.”

Luke let out another sob as Alex pulled him back into a tight hug. “Thank you.” Luke whispered into Alex as they hugged each other. Alex smiled.

“Of course, dude.”

________________

Reggie was sprawled on the floor, his head resting in Julie’s lap as he recovered from his most recent bout of vomiting. The sweat coating his face and hair rubbed off onto Julie’s pants. Ray was sitting next to him and Julie as they sat in comfortable silence. 

Julie had come back in as Ray tried to comfort Reggie but his hand had just fazed through his body. The hurt on Ray’s face of not being able to help Reggie shown but he kept saying comforting words to Reggie. Julie quickly began to help with the physical comfort.

Now they were waiting for Luke and Alex to come back so they could plan out what their next step was going to be. Julie was running her hand through Reggie’s sweaty hair and Ray was sitting next to them, watching them with a parental gaze.

Suddenly Luke and Alex poofed into the bathroom, both of them clearly having had been crying. Reggie blinked his eyes open as Alex and Luke moved towards him. Julie and Alex made eye contact, which ended with Alex nodding and giving a small smile, letting her know that he and Luke made up.

“Hey, bud.” Luke said quietly, his voice scratchy from crying. Reggie smiled at him but it turned into a grimace as his stomach throbbed. Alex lightly touched Luke’s shoulder, knowing it was hard for him to see Reggie like this before he addressed the group.

“Me, Luke, and Reg are going to Caleb.” Alex said, but as the words left his mouth everyone in the room’s mouth opened to object. 

“What?!”

“I’m not going back there.”

“No, Mijo. Let’s think this out.”

“No. Alex is right. We can’t risk any more time. Reggie, you’re clearly getting worse and,” Luke looked at Alex before returning his gaze to Reggie’s bright green orbs. “We can’t lose you.”

Reggie’s wide scared eyes traveled between everyone in the room. His eyes flooded with tears at the thought of leaving his best friends but he never wanted to see Caleb again. His mind was a whirlwind of thought before he finally settled on his decision. “Okay.” He whispered with a nod. 

Julie’s mouth hung open as she looked around the boys. “I’m coming too.”

This had Luke, Alex, and Reggie explode with protests.

“No! Jules you can’t!”

“Julie!”

“You can’t come!”

“Ray! Tell her she can’t!”

“Mija, I know I can’t convince you to not go with them but at least let me come as well.” Ray said, causing Alex and Luke’s mouths to drop open. Julie grabbed Ray’s hand and squeezed.

“Thank you, Papi.” Julie said as Luke and Alex seemed to have accepted that Ray and Julie were coming as well. Luke sighed loudly.

“Alright, since the whole crew is coming. How’re we getting there? It’s not like they can poof with us.” Luke asked Alex, as Reggie grabbed Julie’s hand and then hovered his hand over Ray’s.

“Thank you.” Reggie whispered to them both. Julie and Ray’s heart’s clenched. Ray smiled.

“Of course, Mijo. We’re family now.”

____________

They ended up deciding that Julie and Ray would drive and then Luke, Alex, and Reggie would help them get in somehow. Now Luke and Alex were helping Reggie stagger to his feet, he managed to get his footing under him as Luke and Alex pulled his arms over their shoulders.

Ray was getting his jacket and keys. Julie was nervously standing near the boys, Alex cleared his throat before he spoke.

“You guys think we could do a group hug?” Alex asked, with a sad side smile. Luke and Reggie smiled at him and Julie smiled and nodded before they grouped up into a tight group hug, Reggie supported between them all. A sudden sob broke from Reggie.

“I really really love you guys.” Reggie said through a strangled sob. Before any of them could respond, a sudden purple mist covered everything and the world turned to black.

The world came crashing back into reality. They all landed in a heap on the floor, Luke quickly looked around and took count of everyone. Alex, Reggie, and Julie. Wait….Julie? She-she poofed with them. That had never happened before.

As everyone else straightened up and stood, Alex pulling Reggie up with him. Julie had herself in front of Luke, Alex, and Reggie. Luke took in their surroundings. 

A stage was in front of them, purple curtains, tables with silver chairs and table cloths, crystal centerpieces.

They were at the Hollywood Ghost Club.

“Ah, I knew you would show up soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOp- what's gonna happen?!
> 
> Hey peeps. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading! The fact that so many of you guys actually like my writing and want to read my story is just baffling, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really don't have the words to tell you all how much all of your comments, kudos, and everything mean to me! Like I can't believe you actually take the time out of your day to read my trash like it's crazy! And the number of people who have said that they like my writing is just crazy. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate everyone on of you like I love you, my dudes! Ok, enough with the sappy stuff.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter and are excited for the next! And I hope that you all are staying safe and healthy because COVID cases are rising and I just hope you all are being safe and smart about everything! 
> 
> I'll see you next week!  
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy  
> Love you all <3  
> Memento Mori  
> -Emma


	14. Tick Tock, Reggie's Time is Almost Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tick Tock, the clock is ticking towards its final minutes...  
> The clock never stops, the final tock is nearing us...
> 
> Tick  
> Tock  
> Tick  
> Tock
> 
> Tick
> 
> Tock

The whole group quickly squished together as Caleb appeared in front of them. Julie put her arms out in front of all her boys. Caleb smiled when his eyes landed on Julie, which made Luke moved forward and stand next to her.

“Stay away from her.” Luke gritted out, his voice dangerously low. Caleb’s eyes traveled to Luke before he looked back at Julie.

“It is quite a pleasure to finally meet you, Julie.” Caleb said, his voice using his normal showman tone. Luke’s hand traveled to Julie’s forearm instinctively. Alex reached forward with shaky hands and grabbed Julie’s other hand.

“Now let’s get down to business, I’m not going to cushion your situation. Reggie doesn’t have much time left so I have 2 options for you.” Caleb said, his voice wearing a formal dressing. Reggie’s breathing faltered as it seemed to hit him that he might not make it. Alex squeezed Reggie’s shoulder. “You boys can join my houseband and I’ll remove the Second Death, or Julie and join the houseband and you boys will be free to go.”

“What?”

“No!”

“I’ll do it.” Julie said quietly but confidently, with no hesitation in her voice. All of their jaws dropped open but before Luke or Alex could say anything, Reggie’s voice broke through the chaos.

“Jules, you can’t. We’re a band, we stick together no matter what.” Reggie said, his voice shaky before he looked at Caleb and mustered all his strength and pushed away from Alex and moved forward so he was standing in front of his family. “We’re not joining you houseband. None of us.”

As soon as his words come out of his mouth, Reggie’s entire body jolted and he fell back into his friends. Alex rushed forward and jerkily shoved Julie and Luke aside as he caught an unconscious Reggie in his arms. All 4 of them collapsed to the floor.

“Reggie!”

“Oh my god!”

“What happened?” Reggie didn’t stir but a familiar purple jolt made his body convulse and he curled into himself. Alex rubbed the hair from his face as Julie patted his cheek in an attempt to wake him. They all knew what was happening. They were running out of time.

“Come on, Reg. Come back to us.” Luke murmured as he squeezed Reggie’s limp hand tightly. The color seems to completely dissipate from Reggie’s face and his breathing slowed. 

All of them had tears streaming down their faces as they tried everything to wake Reggie. They all took in Reggie’s lax face, he looked almost peaceful until another jolt hit him and his face scrunched up and he let out a pained gasp. Their hopes lifted slightly.

“Reggie? Can you hear us?” Alex asked, his voice shaking as he held one of his best friends. Reggie gave no response to his voice.

“His time is running out. I would hurry up and choose.” Caleb said as he watched. Julie stood up, her shaking hands clenched in fists as she looked at Caleb.

“I’ll join! Just help Reggie!” Julie yelled at the ghost. Luke stood up and grabbed Julie’s hand.

“Jules, don’t please.” Luke whispered, his voice pained as he looked at Julie. Julie took in a shaking breath.

“We can’t lose him, you said it yourself.” Julie said before she looked at Reggie. “If we lost him because I didn’t do this, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Reggie was hit with another violent jolt and Alex rocked them back and forth. Julie’s face scrunched up as more tears fell down her cheeks. “Please let me do this, Luke.”

Luke looked into Julie’s eyes and remembered everything they had been through together.

_______________

Luke had to keep pushing through Caleb’s hold on his soul. He could hear Julie’s voice ringing through the small room he was in. Both Alex and Reggie had managed to break from Caleb’s bonds but Luke could feel his hold tightening as he strummed to Julie’s voice.

Keep holding on, never look back  
And it’s one, two, three, four times

He closed his eyes and imagined Julie. Alex. Reggie. They were his heart and soul and he needed them like he needed air to breathe. All of them held a piece of his heart. He opened his eyes and saw the Orpheum, then he was back with Caleb.

Luke focused even more on Julie’s voice, Reggie’s bass, Alex’s beat. He was almost there, he could see the crowd and the stage lights but he wasn’t there.

That I’ll try for one more night  
Light a fire in my eyes

He locked eyes with Julie, those beautiful brown eyes and he was there. At the Orpheum.

“I’m going out of my mind.” Luke sang into the microphone. He looked over and saw Reggie’s beaming face and Alex’s relieved smile as Julie’s beautiful smile erupted from her face. She grabbed her microphone and moved to the middle of the stage.

They were together. A band and nothing would ever take that away.

__________________

Luke and Julie locked hands as they looked at each other. He couldn’t lose her but he couldn’t lose Reggie. Reggie would never forgive them if they joined Caleb’s band. He wasn’t letting Julie go this soon.

“Tick tock, Reggie’s time is almost up.” Caleb mocked from one of the tables. Julie pulled her hands away from Luke as she moved back to kneeling next to Reggie. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

“I love you, Reggie.” She whispered into his ear. Then she wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck in a tight hug. Alex wrapped both of his arms around Julie, sparing his hold on Reggie for a few moments.

“I love you so much Alex.” Julie sobbed into his shoulder. 

“Don’t do this Julie.” Alex cried into her hair. Julie shook her head.

“I have to.” Julie said quietly only to make Alex hug her even more tightly.

_______________

Reggie, Luke, and Alex were sitting in the studio waiting for Julie to arrive. Reggie and Luke were there for moral support since Alex was telling Julie that he was gay. It was making his anxiety to haywire but he knew it was the right thing to do. Luke said that if they were going to be in a band with her then she should know. 

Alex was sure that Julie would hate him, say what his parents had said to him. He was quiet sure how people in 2020 reacted to people being gay but he was sure that it would be bad. Luke rubbed Alex’s back and Reggie lightly nudged his shoulder as Julie walked in.

“Hey, guys….” She trailed off when she picked up on the heavy atmosphere. She tilted her head to the side slightly. “What’s going on?”

Alex took in a deep shaky breath but as he tried to speak his words got stuck in his throat. Luke stopped rubbing Alex’s back and grabbed Reggie’s arm and gave Alex a supportive smile and mouth ‘you got this’ before he looked at Julie.

“We’ll be back.” Luke said.

“Wha-” Reggie started but they poofed out, leaving Alex and Julie alone.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Julie asked her voice gently. Alex took in a deep breath.

“I-I….yes. You’re probably going to hate me when I tell you but-” Alex started but Julie cut him off.

“I would never hate you, Alex. You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.” Julie said with a warm smile. Alex returned it with a weak smile before he continued.

“I….I’m gay.” Alex said bluntly. Julie nodded and Alex knew everything was going wrong. She hated him “I can leave. I’m sorry-”

“No I don’t care that you’re gay, it’s just who you are. I honestly can’t wait to see the number of boys go after you.” Julie said with a smile and Alex smiled as tears spilled down his face. Julie climbed over the table and tried to hug him but she just fazed through him.

All she could do was stand there and that was more than enough for Alex.

_____________

As Julie was pulling away from Alex they heard the familiar noise of someone poofing in. They all turned around and saw long brown hair, a beige and blue cropped tee shirt, shorts, pineapple socks, and vans. 

Alex gasped as he recognized who he was seeing. “Willie.”

Willie turned around and smiled at Alex, his face tired, but it was the same smile he had seen so many times.

“Hey, Hot Dog.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WILLIE'S BACK BOIS!  
> I hope you are happy, maybe he'll do some good! Of course, I never guarantee happy endings....keep that in mind and move forward with caution
> 
> Also, OMG we know Reggie and Alex's last names! I freaked out! Reggie Peters and Alex Mercer, I love Reggie's, and at first, I didn't like Mercer but I said it with all of their names and it works so well. I think the fact that we now know them then that just is like well season 2 is going to happen. Why else would they tell us their last names?
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for reading and for all your comments.  
> If you celebrate Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> I'll see you Saturday!  
> Memento Mori  
> -Emma


	15. He Would Never Leave Him Until He Had Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willie tries to convince Caleb to let everyone go

To say the very least, Caleb was surprised that Willie had lasted this long. It was clear he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer but he was excited to see what Willie would try to do. 

He watched as Willie looked away from Alex and looked Caleb dead in the eyes. His brown eyes were full of emotion and pain as he looked at Caleb. The young ghost was must’ve been set on helping his friends.

“Caleb, please let them go. Help Reggie, please.” Willie pleaded and Caleb cocked his head to the side.

“I thought we already went over this, William. They’re too powerful and I need them working for me.” Caleb said as he continued to look at Willie, who held his ground and kept staring at Caleb. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, Caleb saw Alex move to stand but Willie quickly shot a look over his shoulder and flicked his hand. Alex was pushed back down, with Reggie still being tightly hugged to him and his hand gripping Julie, by Willie’s magic. Willie looked back at Caleb, his eyes watering heavily.

“Please, Caleb. Don’t make-” Willie was cut off by Reggie being hit with another jolt. His pained breathing being heard from where the two ghosts stood. They could hear the groups hushed and panicked whispers. Willie spared another glance over his shoulder. Then his face relaxed with thought and he looked back at Caleb, his face stricken with sadness.

Willie’s voice was gentle and filled with emotion. “What would you do if someone was doing this to Sam?”

Caleb’s face went lax at the mention of his name. The tears began to fill his eyes as his mind took him back to those memories.

___________________

Caleb remembered holding his son, Sam for the first time. He held him 2 and ½ weeks after he was born. Sam was premature, born at 34 weeks. Caleb had stayed in the NICU with Sam every day. He hadn’t been able to touch him but finally, after those grueling 18 days of watching his son, he was finally able to hold him.

Sam was incredibly small. He weighed 4.28 pounds but his little figures were tightly grasping Caleb’s hand as he slept in his dad’s arms. As Caleb watched his son, tears fell down his cheeks. His wife will have never known that holding their son would be the best moment of her life. 

As the tears fell, Caleb gently and lightly touched his forehead to Sam’s. He closed his eyes and just soaked in Sam’s presence. The sear amount of love he felt for his child was more than he could ever have predicted. 

At that moment where Caleb had seen his little blue eyes for the first time, he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to love his son and never leave him.

_________

“That was so cool, Dad!” Screeched a 6-year-old Sam as he and Caleb left the venue that Caleb had just performed at. It was mid-December and the cold air was bitting. Sam’s cheeks and nose were bright red as they walked down the street to Caleb’s car. Sam wildly swung their intertwined hands back and forth as they walked.

Caleb smiled happily as he looked at Sam before noticing that Sam was clutching his hat tightly in his hand and not wearing it. Sam smiled up at him widely as his dark brown hair was played with by the sharp wind, his eyes watering from the wind.

“You should throw that hat on, kiddo.” Caleb said as they continued to walk to the car. Sam pouted.

“I don’t like the hat.” Sam whined. Caleb laughed, amused.

“You wear that all the time.” Caleb said, a smile wide on his face as he looked at Sam again.

“But I don’t like it anymore.” Sam said with his young stubbornness. Caleb sighed.

“Well, I guess if you won’t wear it, then you’ll get a cold and not be able to go to another show…” Caleb trailed off and almost instantaneously Sam pulled his hat onto his head as they kept walking.

________

Caleb arrived home after a late show one night, tired from a previous trick he had performed. As he slipped off his shoes he noticed that Sam’s friend Liam’s shoes were almost sitting there. He wondered why Liam was here so late but shrugged it off and went to Sam’s room to check on him and say goodnight.

Sam was 17 now, it felt as if yesterday he was holding Sam for the first time. His love for Sam had never wavered and if anything he loves him more than ever. He loves Sam more than he loves himself and anything and everything in this world. He loved his son so much it hurt. Sam had started to explore music and Caleb loved hearing the ideas he had for new music. 

As Caleb neared Sam’s room, he heard muffled moans from inside his room.

* * *

Liam had left immediately after Caleb had found them in the middle of having sex. Sam was hastily and haphazardly throwing clothes into a bag and grabbing all of his essentials. Caleb was standing in the hall waiting for him to come out.

After a few more seconds, Caleb appeared in the doorway. “Can we please talk about-”

“Talk about how you completely invaded my boundaries?” Sam spat out, regretting it immediately. Caleb’s frustration appeared on his face immediately.

“I understand that you’re mad about how I walked in but you have to understand-” Caleb tried to continue but Sam’s erratic emotions got the better of him.

“No! I was doing something extremely personal and you had no right to come into my private space with my consent!” Sam yelled and Caleb straightened up.

“Sam, this is your space but I had to know if someone was doing something to you. If they were hurting you.” Caleb said, trying to calm the situation.

“I need to get some air.” Sam said, grabbing his bag and moving towards the doorway. Caleb stepped in front of him.

“Hey, kiddo let’s just talk about this.” 

“There nothing to talk about!” Sam yelled but Caleb stayed in his spot.

“Yes, Sam! There is! I want to understand!” Caleb said loudly.

“Alright! I’m gay!” Sam yelled and Caleb smiled at him as tears sprang into his eyes. He reached up and cupped Sam’s cheeks.

“I don’t care, kid. I really don’t and I love you. I love you for who you are.” Caleb whispered as tears fell down both of their faces. The emotion was suffocating him.

“I-I have to go.” Sam whispered.

“No, you don’t Sam. Please stay.” Caleb whispered as he lightly cupped Sam’s cheeks, whose whole body was shaking but Caleb’s words only found an empty doorway as Sam ran.

_________

June 10th, 1981

I haven’t gotten ahold of Sam since that night. I hope he’s alright.

_____

June 23rd, 1981

I talked to Sam over the phone. All I know is that he’s safe and that he needed to be away for a little while.

_____

July 11th, 1981

We have been practicing a new act I’ll be doing tomorrow. I won’t be doing it all out until the night of the show. I hope everything goes well.

_____

July 12th, 1981

…

_____

July 13th, 1981

….

_____

July 14th, 1981

….

______________

Caleb opened his eyes to find that he was in a hospital room. He was surprised to find his body didn’t hurt and he couldn’t feel anything wrong with it. Caleb sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up.

He felt fine.

He looked around the room and saw Sam, curled up on the bed. He was laying next to….

How was that possible? Caleb’s body was laying on the bed, Sam was holding his hand tightly as tears spilled from his eyes. A breathing tube had been put down Caleb’s throat, about a hundred different machines were there keeping his body alive. 

“Sam?” Caleb tried to get Sam’s attention. Sam’s head didn’t lift but he did say something.

“Hey, dad.” Caleb’s breath caught in his throat at the hope Sam had heard him. “It’s day 18. I’ve been here through them all. The doctor came in a few minutes ago and told me that….you weren’t going to….” Sam broke off as a sob erupted from him. 

Caleb sat down next to him and tried to grab Sam’s hand but he found he just fazed through it. His own tears fell from his eyes as he watched Sam cry.

“I wanted you to know I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry we fought. I’m so so sorry. I should’ve stayed but I was selfish and didn’t think that I might lose you. I love you, dad.”

“I love you too, kiddo.”

13 minutes later, Sam’s wails and the continuous beep of the heart monitor meshed together to create the worst sound Caleb had ever heard. This noise would end up haunting him for the rest of his afterlife.

__________________

Caleb was pulled from the pool of memories by a pained gasp from Willie. He opened his eyes and saw Willie, doubled over in pain just staring at him.

“Please Caleb, I know you want to retry but Sam loved you, and doing this to Reggie and the band isn’t helping anyone. Only hurting them. Sam didn’t want you to be doing this. You did amazing with your own son, so please let them go.”

Caleb’s tear-filled eyes traveled from Willie to Reggie’s unconscious form before he quickly moved towards the band. He was going to try to do some good for this group of kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...whaddya think????  
> Ok so, in case you didn't get the point of that, Caleb was in pain about losing his son and that stuff so he's like trying to try again but isn't handling it right. I really hope that you guys like Caleb in this story a bit more now after you understand what's happening! I personally don't think they're going to redeem Caleb in the show but I just wanted to play around with the idea of Caleb having had a son and stuff. So I hope you liked it! I really liked the way this came out and that like never happens😂
> 
> So anyway I hope you all have a fantastic holiday!  
> Thank you so so much for reading and for all your comments and kudos!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> I love and appreciate you all for then you could every know <3  
> I'll see you Saturday!  
> -Emma


	16. I Never Said I Love You, But I Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group chooses if they should or shouldn't trust Caleb  
> Willie and Alex talk  
> Julie knows when to help her friends

Luke wasn’t going to let Caleb hurt any of his family more than he already had. He didn’t know or care what Willie had said to Caleb but Luke wasn’t letting the magician anywhere near Reggie.

He quickly stood up from where he was kneeled next to Reggie’s still unconscious form and stood in front of his family. Caleb stopped but his face took on a new emotion. It made Luke’s stance soften slightly but he stayed glued in front of his family.

“Luke, I know you don’t trust me but I know what I’ve done to you and your friends were terrible. Please let me help Reginald.” Caleb said as Luke stared at him, his mind debating whether or not to believe Caleb. 

Reggie suddenly jolted and convulsed on the ground in sync with Willie, who jolted and doubled over in pain. Luke could see Alex’s body shift as he watched both Reggie and Willie jolt. 

Caleb looked desperate. “He doesn’t have much time left. Just let me help him. I won’t ever go near any one of you again. Just let me help him before it’s too late.” 

Luke’s mind was a chaotic whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. His brain couldn’t fabricate his answer. He desperately wanted to respond but he couldn’t. There was a thick bubble in his throat and he couldn’t push his words around it. 

“Jesus Christ! Luke, just let him help Reggie!” Alex yelled from behind him from his place holding Reggie against him. 

At Alex’s voice, Caleb rushed forward and dropped next to Reggie, and grabbed both of Reggie’s hands. His hands were larger than Reggie’s but he closed his fingers around Reggie’s wrist. He closed his eyes and, after a few tense moments, suddenly a bright silver light shone where Reggie and Caleb’s hands connected.

Luke, Julie, and Alex stared at them, the silver light mesmerized them. Different shades of it coming forward and twisting in and around itself. Then a deep purple flowed from Reggie into the sea of shimmering light. The purple was the same intense purple Reggie had vomited earlier that morning. 

They watched as the silver absorbed the purple until there was no purple left and the silver exploded into a bright blinding white for it dissipated into nothingness. Caleb opened his eyes and they all looked at Reggie, ready for him to wake up.

He didn’t.

Luke’s head snapped up and he looked at Caleb. “Why hasn’t he waken up yet? Did you do something to him?” His voice was filled with anger.

“He won’t wake for a while. The curse took a lot out of him.” Caleb said as Luke’s tense face loosened and he moved and sat next to Julie and Alex. Julie and Luke’s found each other’s shaking hands and they intertwined their fingers.

“Willie.” Alex breathed from next to him, they all looked up as Alex transferred Reggie’s still limp form into Luke’s lap and he ran to his boyfriend, who was sprawled on his back and flickering. He was fading quickly.

“Hold on, Willie. Please.” Alex’s broken voice whispered before he looked at Caleb. “Help him!”

Caleb had tears slipping down his cheeks and he shook his head. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean-” Alex cried out before Willie reached up and grabbed his cheek.

“He can’t help me. I’m sorry.” Willie said gently and Alex shook his head and looked at him, tear flowing freely down his cheeks.

“No, no.” Alex broke himself off with a harsh sob. Willie’s calloused hand moved and grabbed Alex’s hand squeezed it, pulling Alex’s attention towards him.

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. I know I already said goodbye but there are two more things you need to know.” Willie suddenly jolted and his form got lighter. Alex tightened his grip on Willie’s fading hand. “I never said I love you but I do. Alex, I love you. I always have and always will. I love you.”

Alex couldn’t respond as the bubble in his throat grew bigger and it closed off his voice. He began to pull Willie into a hug but Willie took one last surge of energy and pushed his head up and their lips locked together.

Time seemed to stop, Alex wished it had, as Willie kissed him. Alex could feel every bit of love the other ghost felt for him as their lips touched each other. For the first time, Alex felt love like no other. Yes, he loved Luke and Reggie and Julie, but he had never felt such a strong rooting loving connection to someone then he felt in that moment. 

Willie pulled back as a golden light overtook Willie’s whole frame. Alex tried to pull Willie closer to him but his hand only fazed through Willie’s. Alex continued to attempt to grab his boyfriend’s glowing hand but he couldn’t.

Alex let out a choked sob as he kept trying to hold Willie’s hand. Willie smiled at him.

“I promise my last thought will be of you, Hot Dog.” 

Then he was gone.

Just like that, Willie was gone. He disappeared into the golden light, leaving Alex sitting alone on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Time paused as Alex looked at the place where Willie was just a few moments ago. He only came back to reality when Julie’s hand rested on his shoulder and she sat down next to him.

The dam broke as a waterfall of tears came pouring down Alex’s cheeks. Julie wrapped her arms around Alex as he sobbed into her shoulder. She rubbed gentle circles on his back as her own tears fell. They stayed curled together on the ground for anywhere from minutes to hours before Caleb spoke from behind.

“He crossed over.” His voice was small and watery but it was strong and relieved. Alex slowly looked at Caleb, sniffling and coughing.

“W-what?” Alex croaked out, still leaning heavily against Julie, who had her arms wrapped around him.

“Willie crossed over. His unfinished business was to find true love.” Caleb said a small smile on his face. Alex just stared at him before the realization hit him. He started sobbing again, but this time not from the strangling loss.

It was happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Willie gone BUT he crossed over. I hope you are not too mad at me for doing it. I just had to, it was his destiny! Twas the plan all along. He was always going to not stay, sorry if you hoped he would stay.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. I am in the starting phases of planning another JaTP fanfic... I'll give you this:   
> Reggie has really cool (and powerful, like REALLY powerful) ghost powers and a special ghost named Caleb is power-hungry...what could happen?? Let me know what you think.
> 
> Anyway, I hope if you celebrate Christmas you had a good day!   
> If you celebrate Kwanzaa, Happy Kwanzaa! (Idk if that's what you're supposed to say, if it's not I'm sorry)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting! All your comments mean too much to me!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


	17. Do You Want To Be My Best Friend?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke takes Reggie home, that's about it

Luke was sitting on the swings during the first day of Kindergarten. All the other kids seemed to already be best friends as they ran around their school’s small playground. Luke never really had a hard time meeting new people but the fact all the kids seemed to know each other was making him scared.

Then he saw another kid, who had shaggy dark brown hair that fell around the sides of his face. He was sitting on the slide just watching the other kids play. He looked lonely so Luke jumped off his swing and made his way over to the slide.

Luke climbed up the ladder up the back until his head was level with the kid. “Hi.”

The young boy whipped his head around and looked at Luke. “Hey.”

“I’m Luke. What’s your name?” Luke asked as he stood with the kid.

“Reginald. But you can call me Reggie.” Reggie replied shyly but smiled at Luke. Luke smiled widely at him.

“Do you want to be my best friend?” Luke asked bluntly. This made Reggie’s face light up like the sun as he smiled.

“Sure!” Was Reggie’s response. They quickly scampered off and began playing on the playground together and talking.

From then on they became inseparable.

_____________

Luke was huddled on the ground, holding the still unconscious Reggie. His head was resting on Luke’s shoulder as he breathed evenly. Reggie’s hot breath was hitting Luke’s neck uncomfortably as Reggie’s sweat coated hair rubbed against Luke’s face as Alex cried in Julie’s arms.

Julie and Luke’s eyes locked for a moment and she mouth. “Go. I can handle this.”

Luke nodded before he slowly moved and maneuvered Reggie into his arms. Luke was hoping Reggie would be somewhat awake and he could’ve been more helpful than he was being. A LOT more.

As Luke stood up with Reggie, they just became a tangle of limbs. Luke’s legs shook as he tried to untangle himself and Reggie. His legs almost gave out until someone else appeared and helped situate Reggie.

Caleb.

Luke hesitated and wearily looked at Caleb. Caleb returned his gaze with watery eyes. He gave Luke a small smile and Luke accepted his help. Luke was weary and watched every one of Caleb’s moves. Together they managed to rearrange Reggie so he sat limply in Luke’s arms. 

Reggie’s head lightly fell against Luke’s shoulder in his completely unconscious state. He had already begun to gain some of the colors back to his face, which was a good sign. Caleb immediately backed away, knowing that it was too soon for any member of the group to begin trusting him.

Luke gave Caleb a small wobbly light-hearted smile as a means of thanks. Caleb smiled and nodded back. Then Julie spoke from her place where she was still holding Alex.

“You and Reg should leave. Alex needs some more time.” Her tone and volume were gentle as she spoke and Luke nodded as he knew that Reggie was exhausted and needed to be home to get proper rest.

“Okay. I’ll see you both soon. Be safe.” Luke responded. He took Julie’s small smile as his ticket to leave. So he poofed both himself and Reggie into The Molina’s living room where he wobbled his way over to the couch and gently dropped Reggie onto the couch.

Reggie’s arm and head both splayed into uncomfortable looking positions so Luke gently moved him into a comfortable sleeping position on the couch. Once he seemed to be settled, Luke went to the thatch basket that held a wide assortment of blankets. He grabbed a fluffy yellow blanket and threw it over Reggie before he went over and sat in one of the blue padded chairs in Julie’s living room.

Luke curled up in the chair and rested his head on the backrest and let out a deep sigh. As he let the exhaustion (which he didn’t even know ghosts could have) seep in.

____________

The first time Luke and Reggie had a sleepover was the weekend after they met. Luke had begged his mom to let Reginald Peters sleepover. Emily had been hesitant but got the Peters’ house number and called them.

Mrs. Peters seemed rushed and hastily said yes. Emily heard some distant yells from, who she guessed, was her husband. She yelled back at him before she responded with their home addresses and promptly hung up.

So that Friday after school, when Emily was picking Luke up she told him. He had been ecstatic and yelped and screeched. His already high energy persona just went up several notches. He had Emily smiling the whole way home.

Once they got home Emily made Luke go tidy his room up so she could clean up the rest of the house. After she cleaned the house, she went to check on the progress Luke had made with his room.

She opened the door to see his room looked exactly the same, maybe even more of a mess. She found Luke laying on his bed playing with his stuffed teddy bear and a frog stuffie. Emily put her hand on her hip and leaned against the doorway.

“Luke, you need to clean your room so Reggie can come over.” 

__________

At 5:00, Luke’s room was clean, as was the rest of the house, and Emily and Luke were in the car heading to Reggie’s house. Mitch was finishing the hot dogs they were eating for dinner back at the Patterson’s.

Luke was tapping along to Elton John as he sang ‘I’m Still Standing’ from the backseat. Emily bobbed her head slightly as they drove. They ended up at the Peters’ house in 6 minutes and Emily and Luke got out and walked to the front door. 

They heard distant voices that had an argumentative tone to them. Emily noted this before she knocked lightly on the door. From the inside, she heard what must’ve been Mrs. Peters screech something.

“Reginald, they’re here!” Then the arguing stopped and two pairs of footsteps came towards the door. The door swung open to reveal Reggie and Mrs. Peters. Reggie smiled widely at Luke and Emily as he held his backpack. Mrs. Peters look frazzled but smiled at them.

“I’ll be by tomorrow to get Reginald tomorrow. Thank you again for taking him for the night.” Mrs, Peters said to Emily as Reggie and Luke began to talk about all the fun things they were going to do that night.

Emily smiled at Mrs. Peters. “Of course.”

“Reginald, I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?” Mrs. Peters said to Reggie before she pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Reggie said into his mom’s shoulder before she pulled away and smiled at him and then Emily before she went back inside the house.

“You boys ready to get going?” Emily asked the two boys, even though they were already getting into the car. Emily couldn’t help but smile. These two boys were going to be inseparable for the rest of their lives.

She was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We only have 2 left!! It's all happy from here...or is it? You'll just have to wait and see.  
> Sorry this chapter is a day late, I was really busy yesterday so I wasn't able to work on this very much but I was able to today!
> 
> I added this to a series for all of my Julie and the Phantoms works so if you want to see the new ones I've begun working on and should be up soon, you will be able to check them out there. If you want to of course. I do have some ideas...
> 
> Anyways, thank you so so much for all your comments and kudos! They mean a lot so thank you!
> 
> I'll see you next Saturday!  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


	18. Fatherly Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray's point of view through it all

Ray had been grabbing his keys from the kitchen as Julie and her ghost band were having a group moment. He knew that they needed to be alone together, Ray needed to be alone for a moment to try to wrap his mind around everything.

He and his daughter were about to go face this Caleb, who had tried to hurt the boys. Ray swore to himself that he was going to protect these boys and treat them like his own children. Julie had rambled somethings about the boy’s personal life and it hurt him to know that the kids who brought music back to his daughter had gone through so much. 

Suddenly Ray looked at his watch and realized that he had been standing there for 10 minutes. He quickly jogged back to the bathroom and pulled the door open and looked inside the bathroom in shock.

No one was in there.

Ray ran into the bathroom and stood in the middle, looking around frantically. He knew Julie would’ve left a note which made him run through the house looking for one. He ended up looking around the living room, which was the only other room they could’ve gone, with Reggie being in his condition. 

“Shit.” Ray muttered as he did a second scan over the room. There were footsteps behind him, which caused him to whipped around to come face to face with Carlos and Flynn. “Mijo, don’t repeat what I just said. I have it for coined.”

Carlos rolled his eyes. “You’re not one of the Starks, dad.” Through Carlos’ playful tone, the concern was very clear in his voice.

“Did Julie or any one of the boys talk to you about leaving?” Ray asked, holding down his boiling panic. Both Flynn and Carlos shook their heads.

“No, we were coming back here to talk to you guys. Where did they go?” Flynn asked.

“I have no idea. Do either of you have any ideas?” Ray asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

__________

Ray, Flynn, and Carlos decided that they would wait 3 hours before they would regroup and try to find Julie and the boys. Ray was pacing in the dining room, looking at his phone anxiously. He was waiting to see if Julie would shot him a text or update on where they went. So far he’d gotten nothing.

Carlos and Flynn were in Carlos’ room trying to take their minds off their missing family with some video games. Mario Kart by the sounds of it. It had only been 20 minutes since they had decided what their plan had been but as every second passed, Ray grew more and more anxious. 

After another few minutes, Ray decided he was going to take matters into his own hands. His family was missing and he needed to help them. So Ray went to the dining table and grabbed his keys and quietly double stepped up the stairs to his room to grab a jacket.

As he carelessly grabbed one of his many jackets, he realized that Reggie would be in terrible conditions. The poor kid hadn’t been looking good the last time he’d seen him, and he had only seemed to be getting worse by the minute. Ray decided that he would bring a blanket and some other items that would hopefully help Reggie’s dwindling condition. 

Ray went into the bathroom and popped open the medical cabinet and looked through some of the contents inside. Ray didn’t know whether or not a ghost could take my medications or not but he figured it was worth a shot. He grabbed a bottle of chewable grape-flavored Advil (which Ray finds to be the most tolerable flavor with his kids) and some antinausea pills. 

Ray put the two bottles onto his pockets before he quickly descended the stairs to go to the living room, where they kept most of their spare blankets. As he rounded the corner, he saw two familiar figures sprawled over the furniture. Seeing them made Ray let out a deep sigh of relief.

Luke was curled up into a small ball on a blue armchair. His head tipped back as he breathed evenly. His beanie was askew on his head, the front flap of fabric had somehow been unfolded and was covering his eyes like a sleep mask. Ray smiled fondly at the ghost as he looked so alive.

Reggie looked like he had tossed and turned from his original resting spot as there was one of the Molina’s fluffy yellow blanket was on the floor. The bassist was breathing evenly, his arms hanging off the edges of the couch. His normal slicked back hair was hanging around the sides of his face, pieces of hair still wet from the sweat the desperately clung to his hair.

Ray pulled out his phone, knowing that Julie would want to see this adorable scene between both boys. He quickly snapped a picture but when he pulled up the photo, neither boy was visible in the photo. Ray had forgotten that both of the boys were dead.

Ray put his phone back into his pocket and went over to the couch, where Reggie was sleeping peacefully, as picked up the blanket. He draped the blanket over the ghost’s body and as he finished his hand lightly brushed against some of Reggie’s hair.

Ray froze as he realized that he had just touched Reggie. He hesitantly reached his hand out again, afraid that it was a trick his mind had pulled. His hand made contact with Reggie’s shoulder. He felt the soft cotton of his shirt. It shocked Ray but suddenly Reggie turned towards Ray and, in his unconscious state, grabbed Ray’s hand lightly.

This made Ray smile. He felt an odd fatherly love towards all the ghosts. He was going to live up to his promise of loving the boys as family because they were. Ray’s carted his hand through Reggie’s hand like he’d seen Julie do. It seemed to relax Reggie then and it definitely did now.

Ray didn’t mind the way that the hair clung to his hand with sweat. Reggie relaxed further into his sleep. It reminded Ray of whenever Carlos had nightmares, right after Rose had died, and Ray would let Carlos lay next to him in his bed and he would run his figures through Carlos’ hair. 

Reggie really did remind Ray of a son. Luke did too, although Ray hadn’t gotten to know him or Alex very well. He hoped that he would be able to learn more about them and help them whenever they needed him and when they were comfortable with him.

There was a sudden poofing noise from behind Ray that made him lookup. Julie was there, tightly holding hands with a teary-eyed and groggy looking Alex. His eyes were red and bloodshot and he looked exhausted. Alex immediately moves towards where Luke was sleeping in the chair to check on him.

“Hey Da-” Julie started but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that Ray was combing his hand through Reggie’s hair. Alex looked up as he heard Julie’s sentence suddenly break off and he looked at Ray. His eyes widened. He and Julie clearly had many questions but now was simply not the time. All 4 of the teens were clearly extremely exhausted and needed rest.

Ray just shook his head no and Julie and Alex understood. 

It had been one hell of a day for all of them and they needed to heal. They would get through it and Ray would be there for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omggg! 1 more chapter! I can't believe that this is almost done! It's been one crazy ride and I can't believe it's almost over!  
> I hope you liked this chapter and enjoyed reading it! From here on out, it's going to be mostly fluff. The next chapter is the finale and I guess I'll give you all some happy times with the band. You earned it by sticking with this lol
> 
> I really love reading your comments! You all are always so sweet so thank you so so much!
> 
> I'll see you next Saturday!  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ps. The reason Flynn, Carlos, and Ray can touch them is because they are closest to the boys? Idk tbh so yeah.  
> Happy Reading! THE FINALE

It had been 2 weeks since they faced Caleb and saved Reggie. Julie had accepted a gig, being the opening act for Niall Horan (which both Julie and Flynn were freaking out about. None of the boys knew who it was, which sent Julie and Flynn into a frenzy of making them listen to his songs) Alex was walking down the street. He did this every day, as a way of coping but this time it was different. He was actually heading somewhere. Ray had helped him by getting the location Alex needed.

Now Alex walked the streets of LA until he spotted the sign he was looking for. ‘Autumn Grove Cemetery’. Alex took a deep breath, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked through the gates.

Alex slowly walked around, looking for the name. He wandered around the hauntingly beautiful cemetery, there were willow trees dancing in the cool breeze. Eastern Redbud’s pink petals having bloomed, exploding in bright pink. White water lilies seemed to be almost climbing out of the depths of the small pond. The clear water rippled as small willow leaves floated down and landed onto the surface and bobbed gently all along the top of the water.

Alex stopped in front of one stone. The edges of his mouth being pulled into a tight, sad smile.

William Miller

1998-2017

Loved son and friend

Alex lightly brushed off a few of the leaves that had landed on top of his stone. It was granite and relatively small but it was Willie. Alex looked around for something to lay down. On the bench opposite of Willie’s gravestone was a single flower. A magenta dahlia was laying on the bench.

It was weird because Alex hadn’t seen anyone nearby nor, were there any dahlias near Willie’s grave. Alex slowly walked towards the dahlia and plucked it from the bench before he kneeled in front of Willie’s grave. He gently laid the dahlia down diagonally on the small patch of grass in front of the grave. 

Alex stood up and brushed some of the dirt off of his pants before he walked over to the bench in front of WIllie’s gave and sat down. He smiled as he felt like Willie was with him, ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

“Hey, Willie. I don’t know if you can hear me but I wanted you to know that I love you too. I think of you every day and I miss you. I finally listened to that dude’s music. Justin Bieber? They’re kinda good. I hope you’re having a blast wherever you are and I want you to know that, no matter what, I will always love you.” Alex had tears tracking down his cheeks by the time he finished talking. He closed his eyes and let the cool breeze gently tousle his hair around.

He sat there for a good amount of time before there was a familiar sound of someone poofing next to him. A shadow passed by him and planted themselves next to Alex. Alex opened his eyes and found Reggie sitting next to him, looking concerned.

“Hey.” Alex said quietly and Reggie gave him a smile.

“Hi. You good?” Reggie asked, his tone gentle. Alex smiled and nodded. Reggie reached forwards and grabbed Alex’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. 

________

Reggie rode his bike to Luke’s house on September 10th. They were starting middle school this year, which was especially exciting because of the advanced music program. Reggie and Luke were inseparable, they were brothers. 

As Reggie slowed his bike in front of Luke’s house, he dismounted his bike and jogged it up the driveway before dropping it and running to Luke’s front door and knocking. As Reggie went in to knock again, the door flew open and Luke stood there, bright-eyed and huge smile plastered onto his face.

“You ready?” Luke asked after yelled his goodbyes to his parents as he closed the door behind him. Reggie smiled widely at him.

“Definitely!” Reggie said as both boys got onto their bikes. Right as Reggie was about to take off down the driveway, Luke threw his arm out, stopping Reggie from going. Reggie flinched back. 

“What was that for?!” Luke shot him a smirk before he started peddling down the driveway.

“Race, you!” Luke yelled as he disappeared around the hedges lining his house. Reggie took off after him, determined to beat Luke. His flannel flapping in the wind.

“Unfair! You cheated!” Reggie screeched as he zipped down the driveway after Luke, hearing his hysterical laughter as they ride.

______

Reggie had left homeroom and was sitting in math class, his arms folded as he rested his head on them. He sat in the back, his notebook and pencil were haphazardly thrown on the desk. Reggie was lightly taping a beat to ‘Back in Black’ on the desk.

Then someone walked by and awkwardly stood next to the desk next to Reggie. Reggie looked at the kid. He was blonde and his hair was combed to the side nicely with clean and freshly shaved sides and his jaw was clenched tightly. He was tightly gripping his notebook as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Reggie smiled at him. The kid returned a small anxious smile before he opened and closed his mouth several times before he spoke.

“Hey, um, c-can I sit here?” He asked slowly before he started rambling. “I totally understand if you don’t want me to or if it’s taken. I don’t even know why I asked. I can go-”

“You can sit there. No one normally wants to sit with me.” Reggie said with a warm smile as he reached over and patted the seat next to him. The boy gave him a relieved smile as he put his notebook on the desk and dropped into the seat.

“I’m Reginald but you can call me Reggie.” Reggie said with a happy tone, this seemed to relax the kid sitting next to him. He smiled at Reggie.

“I’m Alex.” Alex said before their teacher began taking attendance.

Reggie and Alex smiled at each other another time before they tuned into the intro to their new class. 

Reggie liked Alex and could tell they were going to be good friends.

______________

Julie. Reggie, Luke, and Alex were taking their final bows after they performed their final song of the night when the phantoms poofed offstage. They all were flowing with post-performance adrenaline. Luke grabbed both Alex and Reggie and pulled them into a tight hug.

“Boys, that was amazing!” Luke exclaimed excitedly as Reggie and Alex exchanged smiles.

“Yeah, it was!” Reggie exclaimed as Julie came off stage towards the boys. 

Since there were backstage crew members around, she nodded towards their greenroom. Reggie and Alex both reached forward and grabbed Julie’s hands as they walked to the green room. 

Once they entered the room, Julie shut the door behind her before she ran forward and hugged them all in a group hug. “You guys were amazing!”

Reggie tightly hugged Julie in a hug. “You’re saying we were amazing? You were amazing out there Jules!” Alex said as they pulled away.

“Yeah, you’re vocals were on fire!” Reggie said raising a hand for emphasis. Julie smiled at him and she squeezed his hand. Her puffed out white beaded dress with rainbows going across it making her look like the sky after a rainy sunny day. 

Then there was a knock on the door. “Jules?” 

“Come in!” Julie said loudly and the door opened and Ray, Carlos, and Flynn came in. Ray was quick to hug Julie.

“Mija, you did amazing out there,” Ray said into Julie’s hair. “Mom would be so proud of you.”

Flynn smiled at her best friend before she strutted over to the boys, Carlos close behind. Flynn crossed her arms over her holographic cropped puffer jacket. She smiled at them before she too hugged them. “You guys were awesome.”

Reggie smiled before his eyes traveled to Carlos, who was standing behind them with his arms crossed. He looked like he was excited about something. In fact, everyone had seemed like they knew something that Reggie didn’t. Reggie nodded towards the group hug and Carlos came running over and slammed into the hug.

Once their group hug was over, Ray hugged all of them separately, and then once he and Reggie pulled away, he kept his hands on Reggie’s shoulders.

“I have something I want to talk to you about for a moment, Reggie.” Ray said, his smile filled up so much joy. Julie grabbed Carlos and Luke’s hands and clearly squeezed tightly as she squirmed in excitement. Reggie was so enveloped in Julie that he didn’t notice Flynn had slipped out of the room.

Alex reached forward, with a smile on his face, and squeezed Luke’s shoulders. Luke had the dopiest grin on his face. Reggie’s eyebrows crinkled together but he nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Ray kept one hand on his shoulder as he leads Reggie away from the group and to a small secluded area in the green room before he sat both himself and Reggie down in two chairs. He rested his forearms against his knees. Reggie was sitting straight up, nervous for what he was going to say. 

Ray took a deep breath. “So I have been thinking about this since Julie first told me about...your parents.” Reggie’s breath froze in his lungs as he listened to Ray. “I asked Luke and Alex what they thought and they both said you would love it. Now I don’t know how to go about this but I’m going to try.”

Reggie nodded as Ray spoke, dying (could he even do that?) a little on the inside as the suspense suffocated him. “Luke still considers his mother and father his parents. Alex’s mother accepted her daughter for who she was and Julie helped him make up with her. Now when I heard about what happened with your parents, specifically your father, and about all of your family life, I began to think about this. I asked Carlos and Julie and they both were on board.”

“I don’t know if we can legally do this as a ghost but...we would like to adopt you into our family. Make you an official Molina.” Ray said, his smile somehow growing bigger. Reggie’s mouth dropped open and his face went slack.

“Y-you’d want me to be a part of your family?” He asked in shock.

“You already are but we wanted to make it more official.” Ray gave Reggie the most fatherly loving smile he could. “If you need time to think about it we understand-”

“Yes,” Reggie said quickly. “I-I’d really love that.” Tears began to make their way down Reggie’s cheeks, he let out a happy, genuine laugh before he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

Ray reached forward and pulled Reggie into a tight hug, his hand going up to cup the back of Reggie’s head. Reggie tightly gripped Ray as he cried. Ray rubbed circles around Reggie’s shuttering back as he cried. 

Once Reggie pulled away and wiped his eyes. Ray kept his hand on Reggie’s back. “You’re a really good dad, Ray.” Reggie said as he rubbed his eyes. Ray smiled, his own tears glistening in his eyes.

“Thank you, Mijo.” Ray said gently to Reggie. Suddenly 2 forms jumped onto Reggie.

“Happy Gotcha Day, Reginald Molina!” Carlos and Julie yelled. Ray laughed hysterically watching Reggie squirm around from underneath them. Alex and Luke budded shoulder from the entrance to the small room, both wearing the happiest smiles Ray had ever seen.

Julie scooted over so she sat on the arm of the chair, Carlos was still sitting on Reggie. Suddenly Luke and Alex looked behind them and parted shoulders. Flynn was walking in holding a small cake with white icing, blue letters on top said ‘Happy Gotcha Day!’ A single candle was lit and it illuminated Flynn’s face.

“I know you can’t eat, but I remember after I already paid for it. We’ll think of you well we eat it.” Flynn said as she held it out for Reggie to blow the candle out. Everyone in the room was beaming as Reggie blew the candle out. They all cheered loudly as Reggie burst into tears again. 

“I-I just really love you guys.” He sobbed out. “And I miss pizza.”

Alex rolled his eyes as he and Luke hugged Reggie. All of the boys kept hugging each other as Carlos, Julie, and Flynn subtly ate Reggie’s Gotcha Day cake.

____

After the cake was eaten, they went into the side of the stage and watched as Niall Horan performed. All of them dancing and smiling. Ray stood in the back and watched as Julie and Flynn lip-synced to Niall’s songs. 

Reggie and Luke dance together well Alex rolled his eyes and laughed at them. Carlos pulling one or all of the boys and making them dance with him.

By the end of the night, when he had all of the kids were in the living room, Star Wars: A New Hope playing on the screen, all of the kids were passed out across the living room.

Reggie’s face was pressed against Julie’s hair as he breathed gently in his sleep. Luke was like a cat, curled around both Julie and Flynn, his hand loosely holding Julie’s. Alex was laying with one of his legs over the top of Julie’s and his rest cushioned on Reggie’s hip. Carlos was starfished out in between Julie and Flynn.

It was Wednesday at 4:27 am, as Ray sat in a chair and he smiled as he took in his wonderful family. He looked up to where he knew the sky was and smiled.

“Thank you, mi amor, for bringing them to me.” 

Ray could’ve sworn he saw Rose smile and wink at him before he fell asleep amongst his children, who he would do anything to protect and he loved them all with his whole heart and soul.

“Of course, Mi Querido. You needed them as they needed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! 🥳
> 
> Wow, that was some wild ride! And yes, I did end up giving you a happy ending after all! This was so amazingly fun to write and I enjoyed it with my entire being. Thank you for all your comments and support, they mean so much to me. You all are so sweet and I enjoyed doing this so so much. Thank you all!
> 
> I do have another JaTP fanfic getting planned out (a Reggie-centric one obviously lol) and it will be posted in my series of one-shots/stories. So if you're interested in reading it, you can check up on that when I post it.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the way this ended and liked reading it! I applaud you for sticking with this!  
> Thank you for reading this and I'll be seeing you again soon...
> 
> Thank you!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all more than you'll ever know <3  
> -Emma

**Author's Note:**

> Hi peeps! Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this fanfic! I'm obsessed with this show, I can't wait for (hopefully) a season 2! I loved Reggie, even tho we never really got to know his background. I hope we learn about him in another season!  
> I'm so sorry for any mistakes I missed. Once again I hope you enjoyed this!  
> Thank you all so much!  
> Stay safe and healthy!  
> Love you all <3  
> -Emma


End file.
